Paul William Rutherford (29 February 1940 – 5 August 2007)
was an English
free improvising trombonist.
Biography
Born in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
,
South East London, England,
Rutherford initially played saxophone but switched to trombone. During the 1960s, he taught at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
.
In 1970, Rutherford, guitarist
Derek Bailey and bassist
Barry Guy
Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras ...
formed the improvising group Iskra 1903, which lasted until 1973.
The formation was documented on a double album from
Incus
The ''incus'' (plural incudes) or anvil is a bone in the middle ear. The anvil-shaped small bone is one of three ossicles in the middle ear. The ''incus'' receives vibrations from the ''malleus'', to which it is connected laterally, and transmit ...
, later reissued with much bonus material on the three-CD set ''Chapter One'' (Emanem, 2000). A film soundtrack was separately released as ''Buzz Soundtrack''. Iskra 1903 was one of the earliest free improvising groups to omit a drummer/percussionist, permitting the players to explore a range of textures and dynamics which set it apart from such other contemporary improvising ensembles as
SME and
AMM. The group's unusual name is the
Slavic word for "spark"; it was the title of the ''
Iskra
''Iskra'' ( rus, Искра, , ''the Spark'') was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP).
History
Due to political repression under Tsar Nicho ...
'' revolutionary newspaper edited by
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
. The "1903" designation means "20th century music for trio"; occasionally
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...
played with the group (Iskra 1904) and Rutherford also at one point assembled a 12-piece ensemble called, inevitably, Iskra 1912.
The group was later revived with
Philipp Wachsmann
Philipp John Paul Wachsmann (born 5 August 1944) is an African avant-garde jazz/jazz fusion violinist born in Kampala, Uganda, probably better known for having founded his own group Chamberpot. He has worked with many musicians in the free jazz id ...
replacing Bailey, a phase of the group's life that lasted from roughly 1977 to 1995;
its earlier work is documented on ''Chapter Two'' (Emanem, 2006) and its final recordings were issued on Maya (''Iskra 1903'') and Emanem (''Frankfurt 1991'').
Rutherford also played with
Globe Unity Orchestra
The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble.
Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival. It had its debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on 3 November combini ...
,
London Jazz Composer's Orchestra,
Centipede, the
Mike Westbrook
Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook.
Early work
Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...
Orchestra, and
the Orckestra, a merger of avant-rock group
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...
, the Mike Westbrook Brass Band and folk singer
Frankie Armstrong
Frankie Armstrong (born 13 January 1941) is an English singer and voice teacher. She has worked as a singer in the folk scene and the women's movement and as a trainer in social and youth work. Her repertoire ranges from traditional ballads to m ...
. He also played a very small number of gigs with
Soft Machine. He is perhaps most famous for
solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Comics
* ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series
* Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
improvisations.
Rutherford died of
cirrhosis
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...
and a ruptured
aorta
The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes o ...
on 5 August 2007, at the age of 67.
In November 2007, a memorial concert was held at the Red Rose Club in
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nor ...
in memory of Rutherford, which featured musician friends playing free jazz. Rutherford had been devoted to the country of Cuba and its people, after first playing there in 1986 as part of The Siger Band
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
tours of the country. Rutherford's family presented three trombones and a euphonium to the Music Fund for Cuba.
Discography
As leader
* ''
The Gentle Harm of the Bourgeoisie
''The Gentle Harm of the Bourgeoisie'' is a live solo trombone album by Paul Rutherford, his first release under his own name. It was recorded at Unity Theatre, London during 1974, and was initially released on LP in 1976 by Emanem Records. In 19 ...
'' (Emanem, 1975)
* ''Old Moers Almanac'' (Ring, 1976)
* ''Neuph Compositions for Euphonium and Trombone'' (Sweet Folk and Country, 1978)
* ''Paul Rutherford/Paul Lovens'' (Po Torch, 1978)
* ''To Fall a Victim to Ice-Cream's Charm'' (L'Orchestra, 1980)
* ''
Gheim'' (Ogun, 1986; reissued by Emanem in 2004)
* ''Rogues'' (Emanem, 1996)
* ''Sequences 72 & 73'' (Emanem, 1997)
* ''Trombolenium'' (Emanem, 2002)
* ''Chicago 2002'' (Emanem, 2002)
* ''ISKRA3'' (Psi, 2005)
* ''Hoxha'' (Spool, 2005)
* ''The Zone'' (Konnex, 2006)
* ''Solo in Berlin 1975'' (Emanem, 2007)
* ''Tetralogy'' (Emanem, 2009)
* ''Raahe '99'' (Slam, 2012)
* ''The Conscience'' (NoBusiness, 2017)
* ''In Backward Times'' (Emanem, 2017)
* ''Are We in Diego?'' (WhirrbooM!, 2018)
As sideman
With
Lol Coxhill
George Lowen Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 10 July 2012) known professionally as Lol Coxhill, was an English free improvising saxophonist. He played soprano and sopranino saxophone.
Biography
Coxhill was born to George Compton Coxhill ...
* ''Instant Replay'' (Nato, 1983)
* ''Before My Time'' (Chabada, 1987)
* ''The Holywell Concert'' (Slam, 1990)
* ''Termite One'' (Bruce's Fingers, 1990)
* ''Spectral Soprano'' (Emanem, 2002)
* ''Milwaukee 2002'' (Emanem, 2003)
* ''Out to Launch'' (Emanem, 2003)
With
Elton Dean
Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among ot ...
* ''Welcomet'' (Impetus, 1987)
* ''The Vortex Tapes'' (Slam, 1992)
* ''Elton Dean's Newsense'' (Slam, 1998)
With
Paul Dunmall
Paul Dunmall (born 6 May 1953) is a British jazz musician who plays tenor and soprano saxophone, as well as the baritone and the more exotic saxello and the Northumbrian smallpipes. He has played with Keith Tippett and Barry Guy.
In the ea ...
* ''The Great Divide'' (Cuneiform, 2001)
* ''Bridging'' (Clean Feed, 2003)
* ''I Wish You Peace'' (Cuneiform, 2004)
* ''Shooters Hill'' (FMR, 2004)
With
Globe Unity Orchestra
The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble.
Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival. It had its debut at the Berliner Philharmonie on 3 November combini ...
* ''Live in Wuppertal'' (FMP, 1973)
* ''Der Alte Mann Bricht...Sein Schweigen'' (FMP, 1974)
* ''Bavarian Calypso & Good Bye'' (FMP, 1975)
* ''Evidence Vol. 1'' (FMP, 1976)
* ''Into the Valley Vol. 2'' (FMP, 1976)
* ''Jahrmarkt & Local Fair'' (Po Torch, 1977)
* ''Pearls'' (FMP, 1977)
* ''Improvisations'' (Japo, 1978)
* ''Hamburg '74'' (FMP, 1979)
* ''Compositions'' (Japo, 1980)
* ''Rumbling'' (FMP, 1991)
* ''Globe Unity 2002'' (Intakt, 2003)
* ''Baden-Baden '75'' (FMP, 2011)
With
Barry Guy
Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras ...
* ''
Ode
An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...
'' (Incus, 1972)
* ''Zurich Concerts'' (Intakt, 1988)
* ''
Harmos
''Harmos'' is an album by Barry Guy and the London Jazz Composers' Orchestra that features a recording of a large-scale, 44-minute composition by Guy. It was recorded in April 1989, just before the LJCO's 20th anniversary, in Zürich, Switzerland, ...
'' (Intakt, 1989)
* ''
Double Trouble'' (Intakt, 1990)
* ''Portraits'' (Intakt, 1994)
* ''Three Pieces for Orchestra'' (Intakt, 1997)
* ''
Double Trouble Two
''Double Trouble Two'' is an album by Barry Guy and the London Jazz Composers' Orchestra with guest artists Irène Schweizer (piano), Marilyn Crispell (piano), and Pierre Favre (drums). Documenting a large-scale, 47-minute composition by Guy, i ...
'' (Intakt, 1998)
With
George Haslam
* ''1989 and All That'' (Slam, 1989)
* ''Level Two'' (Slam, 1993)
* ''Cuban Meltdown'' (Slam, 2007)
With
Tony Oxley
Tony Oxley (born 15 June 1938) is an English free improvising drummer and one of the founders of Incus Records.
Biography
Oxley was born in Sheffield, England. A self-taught pianist by the age of eight, he first began playing the drums at s ...
* ''
4 Compositions for Sextet'' (CBS, 1970)
* ''Ichnos'' (RCA Victor, 1971)
* ''Tony Oxley'' (Incus, 1975)
With
Spontaneous Music Ensemble
Spontaneous may refer to:
* Spontaneous abortion
* Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
* Spontaneous combustion
* Spontaneous declaration
* Spontaneous emission
* Spontaneous fission
* Spontaneous generation
* Spontaneous human combustion
* Sponta ...
* ''Challenge'' (Eyemark, 1966)
* ''Withdrawal'' (Emanem, 1997)
* ''Frameworks'' (Emanem, 2007)
* ''Trio & Triangle'' (Emanem, 2008)
With
John Stevens
* ''4,4,4'' (View, 1980)
* ''Freebop'' (Affinity, 1982)
* ''The Life of Riley'' (Affinity, 1984)
* ''A Luta Continua'' (Konnex, 1994)
* ''Blue'' (Culture Press, 1998)
With
Mike Westbrook
Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook.
Early work
Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...
* ''Release'' (Deram, 1968)
* ''Marching Song'' (Deram, 1970)
* ''Mike Westbrook's Love Songs'' (Deram, 1970)
* ''Metropolis'' (RCA/Neon, 1971)
* ''Citadel & Room 315'' (RCA Victor, 1975)
* ''Plays for the Record'' (Transatlantic, 1976)
* ''Love & Dream and Variations'' (Transatlantic, 1976)
* ''Goose Sauce'' (Original, 1978)
With others
*
Maarten Altena
Maarten van Regteren Altena (born January 22, 1943) is a Dutch composer and contrabassist.
Altena attended the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (he studied contrabass) and graduated in 1968. Between 1980 and 1985, he studied composition with Robert ...
, ''PISA 1980: Improvisors' Symposium'' (Incus, 1981)
*
Han Bennink
Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano.
Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...
, ''A European Proposal'' (Horo, 1979)
*
Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, ''
Live in Japan '96'' (DIW, 1997)
*
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Ch ...
, ''
Trio (London) 1993'' (Leo, 1993)
*
John Wolf Brennan
John Wolf Brennan (born 13 February 1954) is an Irish pianist, organist, melodica player, and composer based in Weggis, Switzerland.
Career
Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family moved to Switzerland when he was seven years old. He be ...
, ''Through the Ear of a Raindrop'' (Leo, 1998)
*
Peter Brotzmann
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
, ''The Marz Combo Live in Wuppertal'' (FMP, 1993)
* Peter Brotzmann, ''Fuck De Boere'' (Atavistic, 2001)
*
Centipede, ''
Septober Energy
''Septober Energy'' is the only album of the jazz/progressive rock big band Centipede. Produced by Robert Fripp under the musical direction of Keith Tippett, it was originally released 1971 in the UK as a double LP, and 1974 in the US with a d ...
'' (RCA/Neon, 1971)
*
Tony Coe
Anthony George Coe (born 29 November 1934) is an English jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, flute as well as soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones.
Career
Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, Coe started out on clarinet and was self- ...
, ''Le Chat Se Retourne'' (Nato, 1984)
*
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...
, ''Henry Cow with Mike Westbrook Brass Band and Frankie Armstrong'' (ReR, 2006)
*
Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas are an English electronic music group, for which Richard Fearless serves as frontman. The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Hellier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis. Owing to an Irish record ...
, ''Dubs'' (Concrete, 1996)
* Death in Vegas, ''
Dead Elvis'' (Concrete, 1997)
*
Bob Downes
Robert George Downes (born 22 July 1937 in Plymouth) is an English avant-garde jazz flautist and saxophonist. He is known for his work with Mike Westbrook and for leading the Open Music Trio since 1968. Downes is also a composer, arranger, and ...
, ''Crossing Borders'' (Reel, 2009)
* Bob Downes, ''New York Suite'' (Openian, 2011)
*
Joe Gallivan, ''Innocence'' (Cadence, 1992)
*
Giorgio Gaslini
Giorgio Gaslini (; 22 October 1929 – 29 July 2014) was an Italian jazz pianist, composer and conductor.
He began performing aged 13 and recorded with his jazz trio at 16. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gaslini performed with his own quartet. He was ...
, ''Message'' (BASF, 1973)
* Giorgio Gaslini, ''Jean-Luc Ponty Meets Giorgio Gaslini'' (Associati, 1974)
*
Peter Kowald
Peter Kowald (21 April 1944 – 21 September 2002) was a German free jazz and free improvising double bassist and tubist.
Career
A member of the Globe Unity Orchestra, and a touring double-bass player, Kowald collaborated with many European ...
, ''Peter Kowald Quintet'' (FMP, 1973)
*
Anne LeBaron, ''1, 2, 4, 3'' (Innova, 2010)
*
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's " For You", "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night". After forming in 1971 and with a ...
, ''
Solar Fire'' (Bronze, 1973)
*
Misha Mengelberg
Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...
, ''Groupcomposing'' (Instant Composers Pool, 1978)
*
New Jazz Orchestra
The New Jazz Orchestra (NJO) was a British jazz big band that was active from 1963 to 1970. Neil Ardley recorded several more albums with many of the NJO's members, which were released under his own name.
Origins and members
The NJO was the off ...
, ''Western Reunion London 1965'' (Vocalion, 2006)
*
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...
, ''The Ericle of Dolphi'' (Po Torch, 1989)
* Evan Parker, ''Waterloo 1985'' (Emanem, 1999)
*
Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', ' ...
,
Don Cherry
Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...
, ''
Actions
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fi ...
'' (Philips, 1971)
*
Gilles Peterson
Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...
, ''Impressed 2 with Gilles Peterson'' (Universal, 2004)
*
Jon Rose, ''Forward of Short Leg'' (Dossier, 1987)
*
Mario Schiano, ''And So On'' (Splasc(H) 1992)
* Mario Schiano, ''Used to Be Friends'' (Splasc(H) 1996)
*
Manfred Schoof
Manfred Schoof (born 6 April 1936) is a German jazz trumpeter.
Career
Schoof was born in Magdeburg, Germany, and studied music in Kassel and Cologne, where one of his teachers of the big band leader Kurt Edelhagen. Schoof performed on Edelhagen ...
, ''European Echoes'' (FMP, 1969)
*
Chris Spedding
Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...
, ''Songs Without Words'' (EMI/Harvest, 2015)
*
Spring Heel Jack, ''AMaSSED'' (Thirsty Ear, 2002)
*
John Surman
John Douglas Surman (born 30 August 1944) is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for dance performanc ...
, ''John Surman'' (Deram, 1969)
*
Keith Tippett
Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...
, ''Live at Le Mans'' (Red Eye Music, 2007)
*
Fred Van Hove
Fred Van Hove (19 February 1937 – 13 January 2022) was a Belgian jazz musician and a pioneer of European free jazz. He was a pianist, accordionist, church organist, and carillonist, an improviser and a composer. In the 1960s and 1970s he perf ...
, ''Suite for B... City'' (FMP, 1997)
*
Alexander von Schlippenbach
Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...
, ''The Living Music'' (Quasar, 1969)
* Alexander von Schlippenbach, ''Globe Unity 67/70'' (Atavistic, 2001)
*
Philipp Wachsmann
Philipp John Paul Wachsmann (born 5 August 1944) is an African avant-garde jazz/jazz fusion violinist born in Kampala, Uganda, probably better known for having founded his own group Chamberpot. He has worked with many musicians in the free jazz id ...
, ''Free Zone Appleby 2006'' (Psi, 2007)
*
Alan Wakeman, ''The Octet Broadcasts 1969 and 1979'' (Gearbox, 2020)
*
Charlie Watts, ''Live at Fulham Town Hall'' (CBS, 1986)
*
Kenny Wheeler
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards.
Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...
, ''
Music for Large & Small Ensembles'' (ECM, 1990)
*
Norma Winstone
Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her wordless improvisations. Musicians with whom she has worked include Michael Garrick, ...
, ''Edge of Time'' (Argo, 1972)
References
External links
Discography2006 interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Paul
1940 births
2007 deaths
English jazz trombonists
Free jazz trombonists
Male trombonists
Free improvising musicians
People from Greenwich
Emanem Records artists
Deaths from cirrhosis
Centipede (band) members
20th-century trombonists
20th-century British male musicians
British male jazz musicians
Brotherhood of Breath members
Spontaneous Music Ensemble members
The Dedication Orchestra members
New Jazz Orchestra members
The Orckestra members
Incus Records artists