Willie Ruff

Willie Ruff earned his greatest recognition through his partnership with pianist Dwike Mitchell in the Mitchell-Ruff Duo. Ruff completed a Master of Music degree at Yale University in 1954 after performing occasionally with Benny Goodman during his studies there. An intermittent association with Lionel Hampton followed his graduation. Ruff had first met Mitchell back in 1947, when the pianist was working with Hampton, and the two musicians soon launched their enduring duo. Ruff also played French horn, an instrument he mastered during Army service in the late 1940s. In addition to extensive concert and recording activity, the Mitchell-Ruff Duo made history in 1959 as the first Western jazz musicians to appear in the Soviet Union since World War II, and the pair later performed in China in 1981. A Yale professor of music, Ruff stayed active on bass and French horn while serving as an influential educator. His 1991 memoirs, A Call to Assembly, remain well worth reading. Beyond the many dates with Mitchell in duo, trio, and larger settings that included Dizzy Gillespie, Ruff led sessions for Columbia from 1967 to 1968 and recorded unaccompanied French horn in 1983. Willie Ruff died on December 24, 2023, at the age of 92.