Roswell Rudd was the most distinctive trombonist to emerge from the avant-garde/free jazz world era of the 1960s. He was one of the only musicians from the period to bypass the overwhelming influence of bebop almost completely. He went straight from being a tailgate trombonist in a Dixieland band to co-founding the ultra avant-garde
New York Art Quartet, with few stops in between.
Rudd exploited the trombone's natural proclivities to the fullest, and he didn't try to mimic the language of bebop, which was spoken most naturally by players of keyed instruments. Instead, he jumped wholeheartedly into free jazz -- a type of music more concerned with exploring sound for its own sake. A sound he and his instrument were exceedingly well-equipped for.
Rudd's first instrument was the French horn, which he studied from the age of 11. His father was an amateur drummer who introduced his son to jazz. In his teens,
Rudd began teaching himself to play the trombone.
Woody Herman's star trombonist,
Bill Harris, was a particular favorite. He played Dixieland while he attended Yale, with a band called Eli's Chosen Six. From 1960-1962 he worked with legendary pianist
Herbie Nichols, who became something of a mentor to
Rudd. From 1961-1963,
Rudd played in a band with soprano saxophonist
Steve Lacy and drummer
Dennis Charles. The band would later be informally known as the School Days Quartet, after the 1963 Emanem album of that name. The group's repertoire consisted entirely of
Thelonious Monk tunes.
In 1962, he joined trumpeter
Bill Dixon's free jazz group, which also included tenor saxophonist
Archie Shepp and drummer Charles. In 1964, he founded and co-led
the New York Art Quartet (with saxophonist
John Tchicai) and participated in the October Revolution in Jazz, an early free jazz festival organized by
Bill Dixon and held in a New York City café.
Rudd spent the latter half of the '60s playing in
Archie Shepp's band,
Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, and a group led by saxophonist
Gato Barbieri. In 1968, he formed the Primordial Quartet (with saxophonists
Lee Konitz and
Robin Kenyatta and pianist/vibist
Karl Berger). The group disbanded in 1970.
Rudd's compositions for
the Jazz Composer's Orchestra were recorded in 1973 on the album Numatik Swing Band (JCOA).
Although
Rudd recorded occasionally in the '70s and '80s (notably under
Lacy's leadership), he gradually became less visible as matters of economic survival took precedence over creative concerns. He worked a variety of non-musical jobs and spent time teaching at the college level. After being denied tenure at the University of Maine in Augusta,
Rudd moved to the Catskills region of New York State, where he worked steadily in a hotel resort band. By the mid-'90s, he started to record more frequently. Albums on the CIMP label, under his own name and as a sideman, helped reestablish him as a jazz player. At the turn of the millennium,
Rudd performed with some frequency in Europe and New York, regaining his reputation as the father of free jazz trombone.
In 2000,
Rudd and
Lacy reunited with
Lacy's regular rhythm section, bassist
Jean-Jacques Avenel and drummer
John Betsch, and vocalist
Irene Aebi, to record
Monk's Dream for the
Verve label; the band also toured in support of the album. Also during the 2000s,
Rudd began delving into various world music projects, including 2001's
Malicool, featuring musicians from West Africa, and 2003's
Blue Mongol, recorded with Mongolian throat singers. In 2007,
Rudd kept the world vibe going with the Afro-Cuban and South American-flavored
El Espiritu Jibaro. In 2008,
Rudd featured vocalist Sunny Kim on
Keep Your Heart Right. A year later, he released the trombone album
Trombone Tribe, featuring a bevy of players including
Josh Roseman,
Wycliffe Gordon, and others. In 2011,
Rudd celebrated his 75th birthday with the release of
The Incredible Honk. Two years later, he cut a set of pop, country, folk, and blues standards for Sunnyside under the title Trombone for Lovers. It featured a choir as well as individual vocalists, including
Heather Masse.
In his 80th year,
Rudd collaborated with
Masse, a member of
the Wailin' Jennys. Enlisting bassist
Mark Helias and guitarist Ralf Sturn, they cut a series of originals and jazz standards in intimate, almost informal, recording sessions. The end result,
August Love Song, was released by Red House Records in February of 2016. The improvised
Strength & Power arrived one month later, and in 2017
Rudd returned to jazz standards for the intimate Embrace. In December of that year,
Roswell Rudd died at his home in the Catskills at the age of 82. ~ Chris Kelsey