What's Up With The EVOLVING BASSIST?This past week has quickly become the highlight of my year thus far. Through application, I was accepted to participate in an intense five day workshop called JAZZ COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA INSTITUTE, held at Columbia University. This was a collaboration with The Center For Jazz Studies, George Lewis, Director, and The American Composers Orchestra, and Michael Geller, Executive Director. Upon hearing about it happening, I knew immediately it was something I needed to assist me in my quest to compose for larger ensembles, specifically, the orchestra. The Resident Composers, Derek Bermel, Jane Ira Bloom, Anthony Davis, Tania Leon, Fabien Levy, Alvin Singleton, and George Lewis, truly appealed and was exciting to me.
WET INK, http://www.wetink.org and AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA, http://americancomposers.org were also in residence, as well. There were extremely informative lectures/demonstrations of basic and extended techniques for all of the instruments in an orchestra. It was fascinating to learn new ways to add to the traditional compositional palette. As most of you may know, Jazz musicians are composers with their improvisations, generally, spontaneous in nature. We can only be successful composers in melding the orchestral setting by being functionally equipped with the proper tools inherent in both ensembles. Here lies the daunting and exciting challenge of the compositional process that I have become to LOVE! What I am taking away from this incredible event is:
WET INK, http://www.wetink.org and AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA, http://americancomposers.org were also in residence, as well. There were extremely informative lectures/demonstrations of basic and extended techniques for all of the instruments in an orchestra. It was fascinating to learn new ways to add to the traditional compositional palette. As most of you may know, Jazz musicians are composers with their improvisations, generally, spontaneous in nature. We can only be successful composers in melding the orchestral setting by being functionally equipped with the proper tools inherent in both ensembles. Here lies the daunting and exciting challenge of the compositional process that I have become to LOVE! What I am taking away from this incredible event is:
BE PATIENT! WRITE WHAT YOU IMAGINE! BE TRUE TO YOURSELF!
This is quite timely for me as I am in the process of
completing my Guggenheim Fellowship project. I am happy that I have
been awarded the MacDowell Fellowship to help me focus and complete this
orchestral project. I am pleased to announce that the debut
performance will be in May, 2011, by the Idyllwild Academy Orchestra,
conducted by composer/bassist Peter Askim.
July gave me another great session teaching at the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop. If people are wondering about the health of our music, Jazz, fear not! Each and every year there are some astonishingly gifted individuals with enormous talent. This year was no exception.
The "Out Front" Trio performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, PA. The band set up at the base of the stairs, right under the Alexander Calder Mobile! We played two long sets and the audience was totally delightful and engaged. I have not been in Philadelphia in a long time with my own group, and this crowd was ready! It was a lot of fun and I wish I could take that crowd everywhere we go!
WBGO's Josh Jackson's 'Check Out Jazz' featured The Rufus' Trio Tuesday, June 29. Did you catch it? If you missed it, check out the archive. Josh has created a wonderful situation here. Enjoy his incredible site, www.checkoutjazz.org.
The "Out Front" Trio had a marvelous time at The Kitano Hotel, Jazz Lounge, the 4th of July weekend. They have created a wonderful listening situation here. We had a good crowd, totally listening and appreciative. It was great. Keep a look out, Sept 22, for my good friend and marvelous singer, Madeline Eastman. Randy Porter will be playing piano and Ross Peterson on the drums and myself. She is an extremely creative musician. Don't miss this date!
We are still celebrating the release of "The Rufus Reid Trio - OUT FRONT" by Motéma Music, featuring Steve Allee ~ piano, Duduka Da Fonseca ~ drums. The chemistry with these two brilliant musicians is electric!
I am thrilled to tell you that on April 19, 2010, my latest CD Release on Motéma Music, "Out Front," became #1 on the Jazzweek Jazz Chart. It is almost impossible to express my feelings making music with these two masterful musicians. Check the "Reviews" page to see what has been said about this gorgeous CD.
My time in Houston with The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble and Tim Hagans Subversive Jazz Ensemble was an incredible experience for
me. Michele choreographed a dance
to my composition, “Caress The Thought” from my latest “Out Front”
recording. That has never happened
to me. Ever! It was incredible. The dancers, Michele Brangwen, Scarlett
Barnes and Brooke Barnes-Meeks were magnificent.
I was an invited guest into an uncharted realm. For my composition, I was positioned almost center stage with the dancers dancing all around me. That was truly a new and exciting experience, and tons of fun! The choreographed dance and the music combined produced another dimension for the audience and for the performers. Michele Brangwens vision is to combine improvised music with improvised dance. I truly enjoyed this combination and I look forward to future explorations.
This reminds me to mention the gorgeous CD of Tim Hagen's Music, "The Avatar Sessions - The Music of Tim Hagans" recorded with Peter Erskine and the Norrbotten Big Band. There are several guest stars, including Tenor saxophonist George Garzone, trumpeter Randy Brecker, soprano saxophonist Dave Liebman, guitarist Vic Juris and yours truly, Rufus Reid, on bass! www.fuzzymusic.com.
The JEN Conference (Jazz Education Network) in St. Louis was a huge success, in my opinion. My “Out Front” Trio, with Steve Allee and Duduka Da Fonseca was the featured headliner on the Friday Evening concert. The concert gave this trio exposure to a new set of students and educators who may have known of me, but did not know of my current activities with this magnificent trio. I did a bass master class which is always fun, talking about the role of the bass. For the first time in my career I was invited to participate in the DownBeat Blindfold Test. This was done with a live audience. Watch for it in a future issue. See whether or not I was successful with my answers.
This was the inaugural conference for JEN. There were over 1200 registrants which indicates a strong beginning. I wish the organization the very best as it grows, being a much needed resource for the aspiring jazz students, educators, performers, and listeners alike.
The Bass Coalition Workshop held at Shenandoah University, directed by Donovan Stokes was a huge success. I was pleased to asked to be one of the featured artists and I look forward to participating again in the future. David Murray , bassist
extraordinaire, from Butler University and I performed in a duo setting, playing one of my compositions, "No Place Is The End of The World." David's viruostic playing can bring tears to your eyes. It was very special.
One more very important thing I wish to mention here is the recording of a very special CD for Ned Mann to give him the opportunity to raise money for ALS. Eleven years ago, Ned was struck with this illness. Many of you know that the bass I perform on now was his. I helped him choose this instrument in 1982. Ned was an incredible musician and recording engineer. FYI, he recorded the two duo recordings,. "Double Bass Delights" and "Intimacy of the Bass," with Michael Moore and myself. To raise awareness of this devastating disease, Ned had the idea to record a CD with friends of his and use the profits for the ALS Foundation. The end result is a marvelous, musical two CD package. Ned and his brother Dave were the producers. Although he lives in San Diego, and the CD was recorded in NJ, he was present via Skype. Please go to his web site where you can read his story and purchase or download the music. It is an incredible story of Ned's ingenuity, perseverance and courage!
We started this year performing on a showcase at the APAP, Association of Performers and Arts Presenters Conference. We were presented by Motéma Music to showcase our new trio and promote our new "Out Front" CD. Playing together for a receptive audience was a great way to start 2010!March marked a very special time for our trio in Columbia, MO, with Jon Poses fantastic organization, "We Always Swing." We were wonderfully received with a lot of delightful press. I had the opportunity to have my big band music performed by the University of Missouri Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dr. Arthur White, in The Blue Note. The University musicians truly took care of business performing my compositions, and we all had big fun. The second half of that evening featured the "Rufus Reid - Out Front" Trio! The next day we all conducted two high school clinics with their jazz ensembles and one of the small ensembles at the University. The students wrote articles for the newspapers commenting on us! I also gave a lecture on the history of jazz bass at the public library in Columbia. Thank you, Jon Poses, for such a great time.
April brought me home to Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago. This is where I started my jazz education! At the Jazz Showcase, under Joe Segal. The infamous Jazz Showcase has produced jazz in Chicago for over 60 years, and continues to be the place to go to hear great music in Chicago. The "Out Front Trio" came to play, and play we did. We had a fantastic time, seeing old friends and making new ones. We delighted in the many return visits of guests who liked what they heard. Again, we had good press! (Thank you all, Joe, Wayne and Chuck!)
Chicago was very instrumental in my musical growth, particularly being a member of the Eddie Harris Quintet, who was my first steady gig. As many of you know, I was with Eddie Harris for five years, and learned so very, very much. Eddie was the most influential person in my education. I thank him daily.Michael Moore and I had the pleasure of performing together again as the MM & RR Duo for the JazzNights in Princeton this January. We have not performed together for so long that we had to do our homework. We were delighted to discover that those two CD's we recorded 15 years ago stand the test of time! They are still available here on the web site! Double Bass Delights and The Intimacy of the Bass.
I want to mention the 17th Annual Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists in Madison, WI. This is a workshop I try never to miss. It is just so rewarding. The youngest player was 5 years old and he performed too! Virtuoso players like Diana Gannett, David Murray, Larry Hutchinson, Peter Dominquez and Richard Davis, to name a few, were there to coach and perform for two very special days.
I had the pleasure of taking my Quintet with Rich Perry ~ saxophones, Freddie Hendrix ~ trumpet, Sumi Tonooka ~ piano and Tim Horner ~ drums to West Chester University in West Chester, PA. We did a long clinic, and performed that evening for a very active, listening audience. We will have the pleasure of going to Vassar to perform this fall, October 2.During March while the North East was having a Nor'Easter and trees were being blown over, I was teaching and performing in the beautiful city of Siena at the Siena Jazz School. There are some fantastic musical activities going on there. And, oh yes, the wine is so good! It was a good time to go. We'll see if the airlines let me return in May, or if Iceland's volcanoes cause more trouble.
In 2007, Motema Music released a CD/DVD package set, The Rufus Reid Quintet "Live At The Kennedy Center." I am still extremely happy about the music and this marvelous production. The members of this stellar ensemble are Rich Perry, saxophone; Freddie Hendrix, trumpet and flugelhorn; Tim Horner, drums and Sumi Tonooka, piano. There is a bonus track on the DVD and a 30 minute session with me. I'm proud to say that what you hear is what happened that night. This was recorded live with no digital editing on any kind. In a addition, there was an NPR broadcast on JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater.
In 2007, Motema Music released a CD/DVD package set, The Rufus Reid Quintet "Live At The Kennedy Center." I am still extremely happy about the music and this marvelous production. The members of this stellar ensemble are Rich Perry, saxophone; Freddie Hendrix, trumpet and flugelhorn; Tim Horner, drums and Sumi Tonooka, piano. There is a bonus track on the DVD and a 30 minute session with me. I'm proud to say that what you hear is what happened that night. This was recorded live with no digital editing on any kind. In a addition, there was an NPR broadcast on JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater.
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