Rufus Reid

Rufus Reid
Born	(1944-02-10) February 10, 1944 Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Origin	Sacramento, California, United States
Genres	Jazz, Cool jazz
Occupation(s)	Double bassist Composer Bandleader Educator
Instruments	Double bass, Trumpet
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Motéma Music, Sunnyside Records, Atlantic Records, Soul Note Records, Evidence Music, Concord Records
Associated acts	Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Eddie Harris, J.J. Johnson, Jack DeJohnette, Andrew Hill, Roni Ben-Hur, John Stubblefield, Art Farmer, The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra
Website	rufusreid.com
Notable instruments
Double bass

Rufus Reid (born February 10, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Biography

Reid was raised in Sacramento, California, where he played the trumpet through junior high and high school. Upon graduation from Sacramento High School, he entered the United States Air Force as a trumpet player. During that period he began to be seriously interested in the bass.

After fulfilling his duties in the military, Rufus had decided he wanted to pursue a career as a professional bassist. He moved to Seattle, Washington, where he began serious study with James Harnett of the Seattle Symphony. He continued his education at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he studied with Warren Benfield and principal bassist, Joseph Guastefeste, both of the Chicago Symphony. He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Music Degree as a Performance Major on the Double Bass.

Rufus Reid's major professional career began in Chicago and continues since 1976 in New York City. Playing with hundreds of the world's greatest musicians, he is famously the bassist that saxophonist Dexter Gordon chose when he returned to the states from his decade-long exile in Denmark. His colleagues include Thad Jones, Nancy Wilson, Eddie Harris, and Bob Berg

Discography

As leader

• Hues of a Different Blue (Motéma Music)
• Out Front (Motéma)
• Live at the Kennedy Center (Motéma)
• The Gait Keeper (Sunnyside Records)
• Perpetual Stroll (Theresa Records)
• Seven Minds (Sunnyside)
• Corridor To The Limits (Sunnyside)
• Myrth Song, with Harold Danko
• Yours and Mine (Concord Records)
• Passing Thoughts (Concord)
• Blue Motion (Evidence Music)
• Looking Forward (Evidence)
• Back To Front (Evidence)
• Double Bass Delights, with Michael Moore (Double Time Records)
• Intimacy of the Bass, with Michael Moore (Double Time Records)
• Song for Luis, with Ron Jackson (Mastermix Records)
• Alone Together, with Peter Ind (Wave Records)

As sideman

With Roni Ben-Hur

• Fortuna (2008)

With Jack DeJohnette

• Album Album (ECM, 1984)

With Art Farmer

• Nostalgia (Baystate, 1983) - with Benny Golson
• You Make Me Smile (Soul Note, 1984)
• Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn (Contemporary, 1987)
• Blame It on My Youth (Contemporary, 1988)
• Ph.D. (Contemporary, 1989)

With Stan Getz

• Anniversary! (1987)
• Serenity (1987)
• Manhattan Symphonie (1978)

With Dexter Gordon

• The Chase! (Prestige, 1970) - with Gene Ammons

With Eddie Harris

• Instant Death (Atlantic, 1971)
• Eddie Harris Sings the Blues (Atlantic, 1972)
• Excursions (Atlantic, 1966–73)
• Is It In (Atlantic, 1973)
• I Need Some Money (Atlantic, 1974)
• Bad Luck Is All I Have (Atlantic, 1975)

With Jimmy Heath

• New Picture (Landmark, 1985)

With Andrew Hill

• Shades (1986)

With the Jazztet

• Nostalgia (Baystate, 1983)

With J. J. Johnson

• Quintergy (1988)
• Standards (1988)
• Let's Hang Out (1992)
• The Brass Orchestra (1996)
• Heroes (1998)

With Lee Konitz

• Ideal Scene (1986)

With Maulawi

• Maulawi (Strata Records)

With Michel Sardaby

• Going Places (Sound Hills, 1989)

With John Stubblefield

• Confessin' (Soul Note, 1984)

With The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra

• It Only Happens Every Time (1977)

With Jon Irabagon

• Obsever (2009)

Books

• The Evolving Bassist (1974) (2nd edition: ISBN 978-0-9676015-0-2)

Contributions to education

• Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops
• Stanford Jazz Workshop
• The Lake Placid Institute
• Professor Emeritus, William Paterson University, Jazz Studies and Performance program (1979–1999)
• The "Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists" Annual Bass Conference
• The Sligo Jazz Project
• Bass Coalition Summer Workshop

Recognition/Awards

• 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship, Creative Arts / Music Composition category
• Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Award ("Skies Over Emilia")
• 2006 Fellowship, from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts
• The 2005 Mellon Jazz 2005 Living Legacy Award, from The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
• The Distinguished Achievement Award, 2001, The International Society of Bassists
• Outstanding Educator of 1999, The New Jersey Chapter of the IAJE
• Humanitarian Award, 1997, The International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE)
• 1998 Jazz Educator Achievement Award, BASS PLAYER magazine
• Raymond and Beverly Sackler Composition Competition 2006 Award Winner, administered by the University of Connecticut
• 2006 ASCAP/IAJE Billy Strayhorn Commission Recipient

External links

• Rufus Reid
• Stanford Jazz Workshop
• Jamey Aebersold's Summer Jazz Workshops
• Rufus Reid at Motéma Music
• A three part video interview with Rufus Reid by JazzDoubleBass.com