Jazz Articles about Rufus Reid

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Rufus Reid: Live in Vienna

by Jim Santella
September 4, 2010

Rufus ReidLive in ViennaQuantum Leap/MVD Visual2005 In a memorable 2005 concert performance at the Porgy and Bess jazz club in Vienna, bassist Rufus Reid's trio interpreted several of his original compositions as well as the standard “Cherokee." And what power that old chestnut emitted. With pianist Fritz Pauer and drummer John Hollenbeck, Reid tore the house down with his one-of-a-kind delivery.The veteran bassist started out in Chicago in the 1970s ...

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Rufus Reid: Out Front and with Old Friends

by J Hunter
April 28, 2010

Great bassists are worth their weight in Maine lobster. Aside from maintaining the foundation so the drummer can stick and move, a great bassist can offer a substantial counterweight to a soloist, plus an additional voice that expands a band's capacity for dialogue. By those measures, Rufus Reid is a great, great bassist, with a strength and dexterity that comes through whether he is a leader or a sideman. Here are examples of Reid excelling in both roles.

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Rufus Reid: Out Front

by Ken Dryden
April 8, 2010

Long a first-call bassist, Rufus Reid has played with numerous greats since arriving on the jazz scene in the early '70s, including Dizzy Gillespie, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Dexter Gordon, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer and Jimmy Heath, to name just a few, in addition to a number of dates as a leader. His fat tone and inventive lines add something to every record date and he is a capable composer and arranger as well. Out Front ...

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Sumi Toonoka Trio: Long Ago Today

by AAJ Italy Staff
September 12, 2008

Nativa di Filadelfia, Sumi Toonoka vanta prestigiosi studi (con Mary Lou Williams, Stanley Cowell) e significative collaborazioni (Benny Golson, Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Scott) sia concertistiche che discografiche. Questo in esame è il suo quinto CD da leader, dopo quasi un decennio di silenzio discografico, durante il quale la pianista si è data all'insegnamento e le colonne sonore da film. La formula qui esplorata è quella del classico trio, completato da due formidabili compagni di viaggio: Rufus Reid al contrabbasso e ...

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The Marvin Stamm Quartet: Alone Together

by Jack Bowers
November 15, 2007

Alone Together is not only another splendid album by trumpeter Marvin Stamm's quartet (does he ever produce anything less?), it also comes with a bonus--a DVD whose playing sequence duplicates the CD and allows one to see and hear Stamm, pianist Bill Mays, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Ed Soph as they study one another, alertly interact and carefully work things out in a concert taped on November 2006.

The quartet as it now stands has been performing together for ...

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Rufus Reid: Being A Jazz Bassist and More

by AAJ Staff
October 14, 2007

By Rufus Reid The bassist of any group or ensemble is the core, the foundation, the 'rock', one who stabilizes the unit when it becomes shaky and the individual that everyone depends on dearly 'to always be there!' If this is true, we as bassists must not ask questions as to how should things go. Bassists must take charge and state confidently the tempos when given and maintain them at all cost. If you study consistently and ...

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Rufus Reid Quintet: Live at the Kennedy Center

by Jim Santella
September 6, 2007

This CD/DVD set features bassist Rufus Reid with his quintet at the famed Washington DC venue in a program of original music along with one classic tune by Duke Ellington. The quintet, featuring pianist Sumi Tonooka, drummer Tim Horner, tenor saxophonist Rich Perry and trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, follows a standard mainstream format, interpreting each theme together, soloing around the room and closing with a coherent ensemble statement. Their music sounds fresh as each artist digs in enthusiastically before this large ...