Ruby Rushton

Ruby Rushton operate as a London jazz ensemble fronted by multi-instrumentalist, producer, and 22A label founder Tenderlonious, whose real name is Ed Cawthorne. The group spearheads South London’s twenty-first-century “new jazz” wave by fusing modal post-bop drawn from Yusef Lateef and John Coltrane with soul-jazz, Afro-beat, and Latin rhythms, frequently incorporating funk, electronica, and hip-hop. Membership has fluctuated between quartet and septet configurations across a run of recordings that opened with the widely praised Two for Joy in 2011. Core personnel have stayed constant around Cawthorne on flutes, saxes, percussion, and synths, trumpeter Nick Walters, and keyboardist Aidan Shepherd. Early emphasis on improvisation gave way to an approach that balances concise arrangements with spontaneous playing, a shift documented on 2019’s Ironside.

Cawthorne’s own path shaped the band’s beginnings. While working as a young DJ he regularly sampled jazz, drawn especially to Lateef’s balanced, border-crossing sensibility. Largely self-taught, he first picked up the soprano saxophone in 2007 after noticing one in a shop window. He connected with players encountered at Goldsmith’s University—where he attended only a handful of classes—inside a rehearsal room. He chose the name Ruby Rushton at the outset in honor of his grandmother, a versatile artist. Although personnel and stylistic focus evolved, the name endured.

Cawthorne, recording as Tenderlonious, later met Walters and Shepherd. Together they assembled a working unit that rehearsed and performed with drummer Yussef Dayes, later known for Yussef Kamaal and United Vibrations. Their first album, Two for Joy, emerged from those sessions and reflected shared admiration for Coltrane, Lateef, and Fela Kuti alongside more recent acts such as Slum Village and Sa-Ra. Pressed initially in small quantities, the project receded behind Tenderlonious’s wider commitments as producer, session musician, and DJ until he launched the 22A label—named for his address—and reissued Two for Joy across multiple formats in 2015. The record quickly found favor for its open, hybrid character just as the South London jazz community gained wider attention. Live activity increased, and Cawthorne began issuing solo material over the ensuing years.

In 2017 Ruby Rushton delivered Trudi’s Songbook, titled after his mother’s given name, in two volumes featuring drummer Eddie Hick, bassist Fergus Ireland, and percussionist Joseph Deenmamode. The opening volume’s single, “Prayer for Yusef,” ran over nine minutes as a tribute to Cawthorne’s key influence and attracted international notice. The following year 22A combined both volumes into a single package. After touring the U.K. and Paris, the group reduced to a quartet with drummer Tim Carnegie and recorded the compact, modern jazz-funk album Ironside, introduced by the singles “One Mo’ Dram” and a version of Krzysztof Komeda’s “Pingwin” subtitled “Requiem for Komeda.”

Following a pair of Tenderlonious EPs—After the Storm and Piccolo: Tender Plays Tubby, the latter honoring Tubby Hayes on the saxophonist’s own piccolo—Ruby Rushton released the single “Sun Khosi” backed with “Chrysalis.” The A-side serves as title track for the full-length scheduled for November 2020, while the B-side nods to the enduring example of British pianist John Taylor.