Roswell Rudd

Roswell Rudd stood out as the most singular trombonist to arise during the avant-garde and free jazz period of the 1960s. Few players of that era sidestepped the dominant pull of bebop as thoroughly as he did. He advanced directly from performing tailgate trombone in a Dixieland ensemble to helping establish the ultra avant-garde New York Art Quartet, passing through almost no intermediate stages. Rudd made full use of the trombone’s inherent tendencies instead of attempting to imitate bebop phrasing, which suited keyed instruments more readily. He immersed himself completely in free jazz, a music focused on investigating sound in itself—an approach for which both he and his instrument proved ideally suited.

French horn served as Rudd’s initial instrument, one he took up at age 11. An amateur drummer, his father sparked his interest in jazz. During his teenage years Rudd taught himself trombone, developing a special admiration for Woody Herman’s featured trombonist Bill Harris. While enrolled at Yale he played Dixieland with the group Eli’s Chosen Six. Between 1960 and 1962 he performed with pianist Herbie Nichols, who acted as an important mentor. From 1961 to 1963 he worked alongside soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and drummer Dennis Charles; that ensemble later received the informal designation School Days Quartet after its 1963 Emanem album. The group’s entire book consisted of Thelonious Monk compositions.

In 1962 Rudd joined trumpeter Bill Dixon’s free jazz ensemble, which also featured tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp and drummer Charles. He established and co-led the New York Art Quartet with saxophonist John Tchicai in 1964 and took part in the October Revolution in Jazz, the early free jazz festival Dixon organized inside a New York café. Throughout the second half of the 1960s Rudd performed with Archie Shepp’s band, Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, and saxophonist Gato Barbieri’s group. In 1968 he assembled the Primordial Quartet alongside saxophonists Lee Konitz and Robin Kenyatta plus pianist and vibist Karl Berger; the unit remained active until 1970. Compositions Rudd wrote for the Jazz Composer’s Orchestra appeared on the 1973 JCOA album Numatik Swing Band.

Although he made occasional recordings during the 1970s and 1980s, often under Lacy’s direction, Rudd gradually receded from view once financial pressures overshadowed artistic priorities. He took various non-musical positions and taught at the college level. After tenure was refused at the University of Maine in Augusta, he relocated to New York State’s Catskills region and worked steadily in a hotel resort band. By the mid-1990s he began recording with greater frequency; releases on the CIMP label, both under his own name and as a sideman, restored his standing as a jazz performer. Entering the new millennium, Rudd appeared regularly in Europe and New York, reclaiming recognition as the originator of free jazz trombone.

In 2000 Rudd and Lacy reunited with Lacy’s customary rhythm section of bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel and drummer John Betsch, plus vocalist Irene Aebi, to record Monk’s Dream for Verve; the ensemble also toured behind the album. During the 2000s Rudd explored assorted world music ventures, among them the 2001 release Malicool with West African musicians and 2003’s Blue Mongol with Mongolian throat singers. He sustained that global orientation in 2007 with the Afro-Cuban and South American-inflected El Espiritu Jibaro. Vocalist Sunny Kim appeared on 2008’s Keep Your Heart Right. The following year he issued the trombone-focused Trombone Tribe, which included Josh Roseman, Wycliffe Gordon, and additional players. Rudd marked his 75th birthday in 2011 with The Incredible Honk. Two years later he recorded a collection of pop, country, folk, and blues standards titled Trombone for Lovers for Sunnyside, featuring a choir along with individual vocalists such as Heather Masse.

During his 80th year Rudd collaborated with Masse, a member of the Wailin’ Jennys. Together with bassist Mark Helias and guitarist Ralf Sturn they recorded originals and jazz standards in relaxed, nearly informal sessions. The resulting August Love Song appeared on Red House Records in February 2016. Strength & Power, an improvised set, followed one month later, and in 2017 Rudd returned to jazz standards with the intimate Embrace. Roswell Rudd died at his Catskills home in December of that year at age 82.