Rufus Reid
Encyclopedia
Rufus Reid is an American jazz
bassist
, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey
.
where he played the trumpet
through junior high and high school
. Upon graduation from Sacramento High School
, he entered the United States Air Force
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
, where he began serious study with James Harnett of the Seattle Symphony
. He continued his education at Northwestern University
in Evanston, Illinois
, where he studied with Warren Benfield
and principal bassist, Joseph Guastefeste, 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
. Playing with hundreds of the world's greatest musicians, he is famously the bassist that saxophonist Dexter Gordon
chose when he returned to the states from his decade-long exile in France
. His colleagues include Thad Jones
, Nancy Wilson, Eddie Harris
and Bob Berg
With Dexter Gordon
With Eddie Harris
With Andrew Hill
With John Stubblefield
With The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra
With Roni Ben-Hur
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
.
Personal history
Rufus Reid was raised in Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
where he played the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
through junior high and high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. Upon graduation from Sacramento High School
Sacramento High School
Sacramento Charter High School is an independent public charter high school located in the Alhambra Triangle, adjacent to the Oak Park neighborhood in Sacramento, California. Its charter was approved by the Sacramento City Unified School District's Board of Trustees on July 21, 2003...
, he entered the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
as a trumpet player. During that period he began to be seriously interested in the bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
.
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, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, where he began serious study with James Harnett of the Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
. He continued his education at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, where he studied with Warren Benfield
Warren Benfield
Warren A. Benfield was a Classical Double Bass player. He enjoyed a long career in the bass section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was professor at Northwestern University.-Studies and Orchestral Career:...
and principal bassist, Joseph Guastefeste, 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 City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Playing with hundreds of the world's greatest musicians, he is famously the bassist that saxophonist Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
chose when he returned to the states from his decade-long exile in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. His colleagues include Thad Jones
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.-Biography:Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten . Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen...
, Nancy Wilson, Eddie Harris
Eddie Harris
Eddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ...
and Bob Berg
Bob Berg
Bob Berg was a jazz saxophonist originally from Brooklyn, New York City. He started his musical education at the age of six when he began studying classical piano. He began playing the saxophone at the age of thirteen. Bob Berg was a Juilliard graduate influenced heavily by the late 1964–67 period...
As leader
- Hues of a Different Blue (Motéma MusicMotéma MusicMotéma Music is an American record label focused on jazz and world music, as well as other creative projects by virtuosic musicians who also compose. It was founded by Jana Herzen in 2003, and is now based in Harlem, New York City...
) - Out Front (Motéma Music)
- Live at the Kennedy Center (Motéma Music)
- The Gait Keeper (Sunnyside RecordsSunnyside RecordsSunnyside Records is an American jazz record label.Sunnyside was founded in 1982 by Francois Zalacain and Christine Berthet. Its early releases consisted primarily of piano solo material and ensembles without drums, but in later years has broadened its selection of material.-Artists who have...
) - Perpetual Stroll (Sunnyside RecordsSunnyside RecordsSunnyside Records is an American jazz record label.Sunnyside was founded in 1982 by Francois Zalacain and Christine Berthet. Its early releases consisted primarily of piano solo material and ensembles without drums, but in later years has broadened its selection of material.-Artists who have...
) - Seven Minds (Sunnyside RecordsSunnyside RecordsSunnyside Records is an American jazz record label.Sunnyside was founded in 1982 by Francois Zalacain and Christine Berthet. Its early releases consisted primarily of piano solo material and ensembles without drums, but in later years has broadened its selection of material.-Artists who have...
) - Corridor To The Limits (Sunnyside Records)
- Myrth Song, with Harold DankoHarold DankoHarold Danko is an American jazz pianist.Danko attended Youngstown State University. Among his credits are work in the big bands of Chet Baker, Woody Herman, and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, as well as smaller ensembles with Gerry Mulligan and Lee Konitz...
- Yours and Mine (Concord RecordsConcord RecordsConcord Records is a U.S. record label now based in Beverly Hills, California. Originally known as Concord Jazz, it was established in 1972 as an off-shoot of the Concord Jazz Festival in Concord, California by festival founder Carl Jefferson, a local automobile dealer and jazz fan who sold his...
) - Passing Thoughts (Concord RecordsConcord RecordsConcord Records is a U.S. record label now based in Beverly Hills, California. Originally known as Concord Jazz, it was established in 1972 as an off-shoot of the Concord Jazz Festival in Concord, California by festival founder Carl Jefferson, a local automobile dealer and jazz fan who sold his...
) - Blue Motion (Evidence MusicEvidence MusicEvidence Music is a Jazz and Blues record label based in Pennsylvania. It is known for releasing number of Sun Ra albums.-External links:**...
) - Looking Forward (Evidence MusicEvidence MusicEvidence Music is a Jazz and Blues record label based in Pennsylvania. It is known for releasing number of Sun Ra albums.-External links:**...
) - Back To Front (Evidence MusicEvidence MusicEvidence Music is a Jazz and Blues record label based in Pennsylvania. It is known for releasing number of Sun Ra albums.-External links:**...
) - Double Bass Delights, with Michael Moore (Double Time Records)
- Intimacy of the Bass, with Michael Moore (Double Time Records)
- Song for Luis, with Ron Jackson (Mastermix Records)
- Alone Together, with Peter IndPeter IndPeter Ind is a British jazz double-bassist and record producer.Ind began playing professionally in the late 1940s, including being part of the 'house band' on the ship Queen Mary from 1949 to 1951. He relocated to New York City in 1951, where he played with Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz , Buddy...
(Wave Records)
As sideman
With Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
- Album AlbumAlbum AlbumAlbum Album is a 1984 jazz album by Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition featuring five compositions by DeJohnette and a cover of Thelonious Monk’s “Monk’s Mood”.-Side one:#“Ahmad the Terrible” – 6:08#“Monk’s Mood” –7:41...
(1984)
With Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
- Sophisticated GiantSophisticated GiantSophisticated Giant is a 1977 jazz album by Dexter Gordon recorded in 1977 by an eleven-piece band playing tunes arranged by trombone player Slide Hampton.-Side one:# "Laura" – 7:37...
(1977)
With Eddie Harris
Eddie Harris
Eddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ...
- Sings the Blues (1972)
- Bad Luck Is All I Have (1975)
With Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
- ShadesShades (Andrew Hill album)Shades is an album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill recorded in 1986 and released on the Italian Soul Note label in 1988. The album features six of Hill's original compositions, four performed by a quartet and two by a trio.-Reception:...
(1986)
With John Stubblefield
John Stubblefield
John Stubblefield was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and oboist.Stubblefield was an adaptable musician; he was stationed with the World Saxophone Quartet , Reggie Workman , McCoy Tyner , Freddie Hubbard , and George Russell .-As leader:* Prelude with Onaje Allan Gumbs, Cecil McBee, Joe...
- Confessin'Confessin' (album)Confessin' is an album by the American jazz saxophonist John Stubblefield recorded in 1984 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:...
(Soul Note, 1984)
With The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra
- It Only Happens Every TimeIt Only Happens Every TimeIt Only Happens Every Time is a 1977 big band jazz album recorded by the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra with singer Monica Zetterlund in Helsinki and Stockholm and released by EMI in Europe and by Inner City Records in the US.-Track listing:...
(1977)
With Roni Ben-Hur
Roni Ben-Hur
Roni Ben-Hur is a Tunisian-Israeli bebop jazz guitarist who emigrated to the United States in 1985. His third CD, Anna's Dance, was rated by The Village Voice as one of the best jazz CDs of 2001...
- Fortuna (2008)
Contributions to Education
- Jamey AebersoldJamey AebersoldJamey Aebersold is an American jazz saxophonist and music educator. His "Play-A-Long" series of instructional book and CD collections, using the chord-scale system, the first of which was released in 1967, are an internationally renowned resource for jazz education...
Summer Jazz Workshops - Stanford Jazz WorkshopStanford Jazz WorkshopStanford Jazz Workshop was founded in 1972 by saxophonist and educator Jim Nadel to create an environment conducive to learning, experiencing and appreciating jazz...
- The Lake PlacidLake Placid, New YorkLake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
Institute - Professor Emeritus, William Paterson UniversityWilliam Paterson UniversityWilliam Paterson University is a comprehensive public institution located in Wayne, New Jersey serving nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five colleges: , , , , and ....
, 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
Recognition/Awards
- 2008 Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, Creative Arts / Music Composition category - Charlie ParkerCharlie ParkerCharles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
Jazz Composition Award ("Skies Over Emilia") - 2006 Fellowship, from the New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
State Council on the Arts - The 2005 Mellon Jazz 2005 Living Legacy Award, from The MidAtlantic Arts Foundation
- The Distinguished Achievement Award, 2001, The International Society of BassistsInternational Society of BassistsThe International Society of Bassists is a 501 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...
- Outstanding Educator of 1999, The New Jersey Chapter of the IAJE
- Humanitarian Award, 1997, The International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE)International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE)International Association for Jazz Education , 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. Its annual conference was a gathering point for...
- 1998 Jazz Educator Achievement Award, BASS PLAYER magazine
- Raymond and Beverly Sackler Composition Competition 2006 Award Winner, administered by the University of ConnecticutUniversity of ConnecticutThe admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
- 2006 ASCAP/IAJE Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
Commission Recipient
External links
- Rufus Reid
- Stanford Jazz Workshop
- Jamey Aebersold's Summer Jazz Workshops
- Rufus Reid at Motéma MusicMotéma MusicMotéma Music is an American record label focused on jazz and world music, as well as other creative projects by virtuosic musicians who also compose. It was founded by Jana Herzen in 2003, and is now based in Harlem, New York City...
- A three part video interview with Rufus Reid by JazzDoubleBass.com