Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
) is 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 ...
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
, educator, and composer.
Biography
Reid was raised in
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, where he played the
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
through junior high and
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
. Upon graduation from
Sacramento High School
Sacramento Charter High School ("Sac High") is an independent public charter high school in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California. Originally founded in 1856, Sacramento High is the second oldest public high school in California. I ...
, he entered the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
as a trumpet player. During that period he began to be seriously interested in the bass.
After fulfilling his duties in the military, Rufus had decided he wanted to pursue a career as a professional bassist. He moved to
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, where he began serious study with James Harnett of the
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera.
History
Beginnings
The orchestr ...
. He continued his education at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...
, where he studied with Warren Benfield and principal bassist,
Joseph Guastefeste
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, both of the Chicago Symphony. He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Music Degree as a Performance Major on the Double Bass.
Rufus Reid's major professional career began in Chicago and continues since 1976 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Playing with hundreds of the world's greatest musicians, he is famously the bassist that saxophonist
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...
chose when he returned to the states from his decade-long exile in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. His colleagues include
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists".
Biography
Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...
Bob Berg
Robert Berg (April 7, 1951 – December 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist.
Biography
Berg was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
Berg started his musical education at the age of six when he began studying classical piano. He beg ...
.
Reid has been a resident of
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...
The Record (Bergen County)
''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and ...
'', July 17, 2005, backed up by the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
as of May 23, 2006. Accessed November 29, 2017. "Luckily, pianist John Hicks, drummer Leroy Williams, percussionist Steve Kroon and celebrated Teaneck bassist Rufus Reid were happy to go where Ben-Hur led."
Discography
As leader
* ''Terrestrial Dance'' Rufus Reid Trio w/SIRIUS QUARTET ( Newvelle Records - Vinyl only)
* ''Quiet Pride - The Elizabeth Catlett Project'' ( Motéma Music )
* ''Hues of a Different Blue'' ( Motéma)
* ''Out Front'' (Motéma)
* ''Live at the Kennedy Center'' (Motéma)
* ''The Gait Keeper'' ( Sunnyside)
* '' Perpetual Stroll'' (
Theresa
Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name.
It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or re ...
)
* ''Seven Minds'' (Sunnyside)
* ''Corridor To The Limits'' (Sunnyside)
* ''Mirth Song'', with
Harold Danko
Harold Danko (born June 13, 1947 in Ohio) is an American jazz pianist.
Danko attended Youngstown State University. Among his credits are work in the big bands of Woody Herman and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, as well as smaller ensembles with Gerry Mul ...
Double-Time
In popular music, half-time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially ''doubling the tempo resolution'' or metric division/level in comparison to common-time. Thus, two measures of approximate a single measure o ...
)
* ''Intimacy of the Bass'', with Michael Moore (Double-Time)
* ''Song for Luis'', with Ron Jackson (Mastermix)
* ''Alone Together'', with
Peter Ind
Peter Ind (20 July 1928 – 20 August 2021) was a British jazz double bassist and record producer.
Early life
Ind was born in Middlesex. His father was a builder. Ind began to learn the violin at the age of eight and played in his school orches ...
(Wave)
As TanaReid
With
Akira Tana
Akira Tana (born March 14, 1952 in San Jose, California) is an American jazz drummer.
Biography
Tana grew up in Palo Alto, graduating from Gunn High School in 1970. Tana then obtained a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in the social sci ...
* ''Yours and Mine'' (
Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...
Paddle Wheel
A paddle wheel is a form of waterwheel or impeller in which a number of paddles are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several uses, of which some are:
* Very low-lift water pumping, such as flooding paddy fields at no more than abo ...
, 1993)
* ''Rumour'' with Charles Licata ''Rumour'' (Charles Publishing, 1995)
* ''Looking Forward'' (
Evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
Jane Ira Bloom
Jane Ira Bloom (born January 12, 1955) is an American jazz soprano saxophonist and composer.
Early years
Bloom was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Joel and Evelyn Bloom. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the alto saxopho ...
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
983
Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byza ...
993
Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...
*''
A la Carte
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...
'' (Muse, 1983
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
A City Called Heaven
''A City Called Heaven'' is an album by trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances recorded in 1991 and released on the Landmark Records, Landmark label.
'' (Landmark, 1991)
With
George Cables
George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Art ...
*''
Circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is con ...
'' (Contemporary, 1979
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
Baystate
Baystate was a Japanese jazz record label.
Some of these album were also released on the Japanese labels Victor and Horo Records. Almost none have been reissued on LP or CD.
Discography 6000s
*RVJ-6001: M'Boom - '' Re: Percussion''
*RVJ-60 ...
Soul Note
Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz.
History
Black S ...
Contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
, 1987)
* ''
Blame It on My Youth
"Blame It on My Youth" is a jazz standard written by Oscar Levant (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics) in 1934.
Recorded versions
*1934: The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (vocal by Bob Crosby) - recorded for Decca Records (catalog 320) on November ...
'' (Contemporary, 1988)
* ''
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
'' (Contemporary, 1989)
With
Ricky Ford
Ricky Ford (born March 4, 1954) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Biography
Ford was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States,) and studied at the New England Conservatory. Ricky Ford AllMusic In 1974, he recorded with Gunther Schulle ...
Anniversary!
''Anniversary!'' is a live album by saxophonist Stan Getz which was recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in 1987 and released on the EmArcy label in 1989.
'' (
EmArcy
EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company.
During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...
* ''
The Chase!
''The Chase!'' is a live album by the saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons recorded in Chicago in 1970 and released on the Prestige label.
Reception
In a review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow stated: "this CD is highly recommended to fans of ...
Excursions
An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or Physical exercise, physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes.
Pu ...
New Outlook
''New Outlook'' is the debut album by jazz pianist and mathematician Rob Schneiderman which was recorded on January 5, 1988, and released by Reservoir.
'' (
Reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
Reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
The Thad Jones Mel Lewis Quartet
''The Thad Jones Mel Lewis Quartet'' is a live album by the Thad Jones Mel Lewis Quartet recorded in 1977 in Miami and released on the Artists House label in 1978.
'' (Artists House, 1978)
With others
*
Roni Ben-Hur
Roni Ben-Hur is an Israeli jazz guitarist who immigrated to the United States in 1985. His parents were Tunisian-Jewish from Tunisia.
Biography
Roni Bohobza grew up in Dimona, Israel. He is the youngest of seven children and one of two born a ...
Dan Faulk Dan Faulk (born 1969) is a jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator.
Biography
Faulk was born in 1969. In 1992, he recorded ''Focusing In'' for Criss Cross Jazz.Benny Golson, '' Benny Golson Quartet'' (LRC Ltd. 1990)
*
Barry Harris
Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style.
Life and career
Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...
Jimmy Heath
James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath.
Biography
Heath w ...
The Jazztet
The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted unt ...
Etta Jones
Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene A ...
Frank Kimbrough
Frank Kimbrough (November 2, 1956 – December 30, 2020) was an American post-bop jazz pianist. He was born and raised in Roxboro, North Carolina. He did some work at Chapel Hill before moving to Washington, D. C. in 1980 and then New York City ...
Kirk Lightsey
Kirkland "Kirk" Lightsey (born February 15, 1937, Detroit, Michigan) is an American jazz pianist.
Biography
Lightsey had piano instruction from the age of five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After service in the Army, Lights ...
Billy Mitchell
William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.
Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...
Tete Montoliu
Vicenç Montoliu i Massana, better known as Tete Montoliu (28 March 1933 – 24 August 1997) was a Spanish jazz pianist from Catalonia, Spain. Born blind, he learnt braille music at age seven. His styles varied from hard bop, through afro-Cuban, ...
Ralph Moore
Ralph Moore (born 24 December 1956) is an English jazz saxophonist.
Early life
Moore was born in Brixton, London, England. His mother was the dancer Josie Woods, and his father was in the US military. He spent his childhood in Brixton, and afte ...
Joe Wilder
Joseph Benjamin Wilder (February 22, 1922 – May 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.
Wilder was awarded the Temple University Jazz Master's Hall of Fame Award in 2006. The National Endowment for the Arts honored h ...
Claudio!
''Claudio!'', is an album by Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi which was recorded in 1985 and released by the Uptown label.Michel Sardaby
Michel Sardaby (born 4 September 1935) is a French jazz pianist.
Background and career
Born in Fort-de-France, Martinique, he moved to Paris, where in March 1967, he was one of the pianists, the others being Joe "Stride" Turner, Errol Parker, C ...
, ''Going Places'' (Sound Hills, 1989)
*
Jack Sheldon
Beryl Cyril Sheldon Jr. (November 30, 1931 – December 27, 2019), known professionally as Jack Sheldon, was an American singer, musician, and actor. He performed on '' The Merv Griffin Show'' and participated in episodes of the educational musi ...
, ''
Playing for Change
Playing For Change is a multimedia music project, featuring musicians and singers from across the globe, co-founded in 2002 by American Grammy award-winning music producer/engineer and award-winning film director Mark Johnson and film producer/ph ...
'' (Uptown, 1986
997
Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...
*
John Stubblefield
John Stubblefield (February 4, 1945 – July 4, 2005) was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and oboist.
Early life
Stubblefield was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied music at the Association for the Advancement of Crea ...
, ''
Confessin'
"(I'm) Confessin' (that I Love You)" (also known as "Confessin'", "I'm Confessin'" and "Confessin' that I Love You") is a jazz and popular standard that has been recorded many times.
Background
The song was first produced with different lyric ...
'' (Soul Note, 1984)
*
Jon Irabagon
Jon Irabagon is a Filipino-American saxophonist, composer, and founder of Irabbagast Records.
Winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and one of '' Time Outs "25 essential New York City jazz icons", Irabagon is known for the breadth ...
, ''The Observer'' (2009)
* Geoff Keezer, ''Waiting In The Wings'' (Sunnyside, 1989)
Books
* ''The Evolving Bassist'' (1974) (2nd edition: )
Contributions to education
*
Jamey Aebersold
Wilton Jameson "Jamey" Aebersold (born July 21, 1939) is an American publisher, educator, and jazz saxophonist. His Play-A-Long series of instructional books and CDs, using the chord-scale system, the first of which was released in 1967, are an ...
Summer Jazz Workshops
*
Stanford Jazz Workshop
Stanford Jazz Workshop (SJW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to jazz education and the annual concert series known as the Stanford Jazz Festival.
SJW was founded in 1972 by saxophonist and educator Jim Nadel. Though many of its activities a ...
William Paterson University
William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education.
Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...
, Jazz Studies and Performance program (1979–1999)
*The "Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists" Annual Bass Conference
*The Sligo Jazz Project
*Bass Coalition Summer Workshop
Awards and honors
* 1997 Humanitarian Award,
International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE)
International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE), formerly a not-for-profit corporation based in Manhattan, Kansas, was a volunteer-run organization that, among other things, allocated student scholarships through its approved festivals program ...
* 1998 Jazz Educator Achievement Award, ''Bass Player''
* 1999 Outstanding Educator, New Jersey Chapter of the IAJE
* 2001 Distinguished Achievement Award,
International Society of Bassists The International Society of Bassists (ISB) is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization for anybody who enjoys the double bass. The society was founded in 1967 by Gary Karr as the International Institute for String Bass (IISB). After a two-year hiat ...
* 2005 Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award,
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF), headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is one of six not-for-profit regional arts organizations funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Founded in 1979, MAAF works to "promote and support multi ...
* 2006 Award, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Composition Competition, administered by
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
* 2006 Fellowship,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
Motéma Music
Motéma Music is a jazz and world music record label in the United States. It was founded in 2003 in San Francisco Bay Area. This record label’s catalog spans genres, cultures, and generations and has received Grammy recognition for over twen ...