Elman H. "Rudy" Rutherford (June 18, 1924 – March 31, 1995) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist and clarinetist.

Career

Rutherford played early in the 1940s with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

; he initially took

Jack Washington Ronald "Jack" Washington (July 17, 1910 – November 28, 1964) was an American jazz saxophonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra in the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born in Kansas City, Kansas, he started playing soprano saxo ...

's place in Basie's orchestra as a baritone saxophonist, and once Washington returned from military service, Rutherford switched to alto saxophone. In 1947 Rutherford moved to

Teddy Buckner Teddy Buckner (July 16, 1909 in Sherman, Texas – September 22, 1994 in Los Angeles, California) was an American jazz trumpeter associated with Dixieland music. Early in his career Buckner played with Sonny Clay. He worked with Buck Clayton i ...

's band, though he continued working with Basie into the early 1950s. He worked with Wilbur De Paris late in the 1950s and appeared with

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

in 1958. In the 1960s he worked with

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All Ab ...

and spent several years with

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

in the mid-1970s. He worked with

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of t ...

in the 1980s and was active in performance until his death.

Discography

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

, ''1944–1945'' (Classics, 1996) *

, ''Count Basie Classics by the Great Count Basie Band'' (Columbia, 1955) * Count Basie, ''The Count'' (RCA Camden, 1958) *

Corky Corcoran Gene Patrick "Corky" Corcoran (July 28, 1924 – October 3, 1979) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Early life Corcoran was born in Tacoma, Washington. Considered a child prodigy, he began performing in bands at the age of 16. Career ...

, ''The Lamplighter All Star Broadcasts'' (Hep, 2009) *

, ''Live at Buffalo'' (Improv, 1976) * Earl Hines &

Marva Josie Marva Josie (born Marva Josie Spurling, December 9, 1939) is an American jazz singer who was the longtime vocalist for Earl Hines. In 1976 they both played at the White House for President Gerald Ford and later for President Jimmy Carter. Josie ...

, ''Jazz Is His Old Lady... and My Old Man'' (Catalyst, 1977) *

Lurlean Hunter Lurlean Hunter (December 1, 1919 – March 11, 1983) was an American contralto singer. Early years Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Hunter was taken to Chicago when she was two months old. She attended Englewood High School in Chicago. Ca ...

, ''Blue & Sentimental'' (Atlantic, 1960) *

, ''Jacquet's Got It'' (Atlantic, 1988) *

Preston Love Preston Haynes Love (April 26, 1921 – February 12, 2004) was an American saxophonist, bandleader, and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska, United States, best known as a sideman for jazz and rhythm and blues artists like Count Basie and Ray Char ...

, ''Preston Love'' (Mexie L, 2003) *

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

, ''Dinah Washington Sings the Best in Blues'' (Mercury, 1957) *

Dicky Wells William Wells (June 10, 1907 – November 12, 1985), known professionally as Dicky Wells (sometimes Dickie Wells), was an American jazz trombonist. Career Dickie Wells is believed to have been born on June 10, 1907 in Centerville, Tennessee, Uni ...

, ''

Bones for the King ''Bones for the King'' is an album by trombonist Dicky Wells which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Felsted label.Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

, ''Blue Lester'' (Savoy, 1956)

References

;Footnotes ;General references *Chris Sheridan, "Rudy Rutherford". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...

. American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz clarinetists 1924 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub