Biography
The Dutch multi-instrumentalist Ruud Jacobs, younger sibling of pianist Pim Jacobs, performed improvisational roles across numerous European modern jazz ensembles that featured saxophonist Bernt Rosengren and trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff. His bass conception drew primarily from foundational swing-era walkers including Ray Brown, Jimmy Blanton, Oscar Pettiford, and Paul Chambers, while his reed proficiency encompassed enough instruments to populate an entire woodwind section. During adolescence he briefly rivaled his brother at the piano, yet once professional opportunities arose he ceded the keyboard chair, enabling the pair to back visiting artists such as Herbie Mann on live recordings made in the latter half of the 1950s.
Hailing from Hilversum, the hub of Dutch broadcasting, the Jacobs family produced a recording artist whose given name appeared variously as Rudy, Rudolph, or the authentically Dutch Ruud, thereby confounding discographers with an array of contradictory entries. The brothers’ joint work encompassed Wes Ilcken’s small combo, ad-hoc rhythm support for reedman Tony Scott, and radio sessions behind vocalist Rita Reys, who was both Pim’s wife and Ruud’s sister-in-law. Documented Dutch jazz sessions list the younger Jacobs on both bass and tenor saxophone under his sibling’s leadership.
Ruud Jacobs earned selection to the Newport International Band, which performed at the Brussels World Fair and additional international sites; the ensemble, also comprising pianist George Gruntz and guitarist Gabor Szabo, issued a live Columbia album in 1958. Throughout the subsequent decade the larger group uniting Jacobs with Mangelsdorff, Rosengren, and trumpeter Dusko Goykovich became a fixture at Frankfurt’s Storyville club. As a producer he has overseen sessions spanning multiple idioms, among them the 1978 co-production of Jan Akkerman’s progressive-rock album Aranjuez and a mainstream-jazz date the same year featuring pianist Hank Jones. His production credits further include projects by his brother, sister-in-law, Laura Fygi, and the Buffoons.
Hailing from Hilversum, the hub of Dutch broadcasting, the Jacobs family produced a recording artist whose given name appeared variously as Rudy, Rudolph, or the authentically Dutch Ruud, thereby confounding discographers with an array of contradictory entries. The brothers’ joint work encompassed Wes Ilcken’s small combo, ad-hoc rhythm support for reedman Tony Scott, and radio sessions behind vocalist Rita Reys, who was both Pim’s wife and Ruud’s sister-in-law. Documented Dutch jazz sessions list the younger Jacobs on both bass and tenor saxophone under his sibling’s leadership.
Ruud Jacobs earned selection to the Newport International Band, which performed at the Brussels World Fair and additional international sites; the ensemble, also comprising pianist George Gruntz and guitarist Gabor Szabo, issued a live Columbia album in 1958. Throughout the subsequent decade the larger group uniting Jacobs with Mangelsdorff, Rosengren, and trumpeter Dusko Goykovich became a fixture at Frankfurt’s Storyville club. As a producer he has overseen sessions spanning multiple idioms, among them the 1978 co-production of Jan Akkerman’s progressive-rock album Aranjuez and a mainstream-jazz date the same year featuring pianist Hank Jones. His production credits further include projects by his brother, sister-in-law, Laura Fygi, and the Buffoons.
Albums
Live