Updated: February 8, 2024
Born: February 10, 1944
Rufus Reid is one of a handful of true renaissance figures in the Arts. This bassist and composer has been an active presence in the jazz world since the 1970’s. He has recorded over 500 albums, 25 under his own name, with Terrestrial Dance and Always In The Moment released in Vinyl by Newvelle Records. The 2022 CD release, Celebration, features the jazz trio with a string quartet. Reid can be heard on recordings with Dexter Gordon, Andrew Hill, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Quartet, Kenny Barron, Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, Lee Konitz, Jack DeJohnette and many others.
Reid has written for strings, chamber ensembles, solo bass, jazz ensembles of varying sizes and symphony orchestras and has had the privilege of having all of them performed.
His reputation as an educator is equal to that of his musical achievements. His book The Evolving Bassist (Myriad Limited, 1974) remains the industry standard for double bass methodology. Reid and Dr. Martin Krivin created the Jazz Studies and Performance Bachelor of Music Program at William Paterson University. This program offered the first professional academically accredited Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies in the NY, NJ, CT tri-state area.
He has received the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and the MacDowell Colony Grant among others. His 2014 release, Quiet Pride – The Elizabeth Catlett Project, received two Grammy Nominations; for Best Large Jazz Ensemble and for Best Instrumental Composition.
Rufus Reid continues to be the Evolving Bassist.
Awards
Recognition Award for Composition (2013)
International Society of Bassists
LeJENds of Jazz Education Award (2013)
Jazz Education Network
Jazz Leadership Award (2007)
New Jersey Jazz Society
New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship (2006)
Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award (2005)
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
Distinguished Achievement Award (2001)
International Society of Bassists
(this is the Society’s highest honor)
New Jersey Outstanding Educator of the Year Award (1999)
New Jersey International Association of Jazz Educators
Jazz Educator Achievement Award (1998)
DownBeat Magazine
Humanitarian Award (1997)
The International Association of Jazz Educators
Merit Award (1993)
Northwestern University
Presented to those who have distinguished themselves in their particular professions in such a way as to reflect credit upon their alma mater.
Cape Award (1991)
For the Best Special Event – Music Division
Visionary Award (1990)
The Carter G. Woodson Foundation
Congressional Achievement Award (1988)
In recognition of outstanding musicianship and contribution to the preservation of Jazz
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All About Jazz Articles
Nick Finzer: Legacy
by Pierre Giroux
In the realm of jazz, the legacy of J.J. Johnson looms large and immutable, casting an indelible shadow over the trombone's narrative. It is with reverence and a touch of audacity that trombonist Nick Finzer undertakes the task of honoring this titan with his album Legacy a centennial celebration of JJ Johnson. Joined by a stellar ensemble featuring Renee Rosnes, who served as the pianist in Johnson's quintet from 1989 to 1997, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Lewis Nash, Finzer ...
read moreChris Rottmayer: Being
by Jack Bowers
On Being, his fourth album as leader, Wisconsin-based pianist Chris Rottmayer has chosen to appraise the music of pianist Mulgrew Miller, as written for and performed by the Woody Shaw Quintet. Russ Johnson sits in for Shaw on trumpet and flugelhorn, while the celebrated bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Matt Endres round out the quartet's capable rhythm section. Half of the album's ten numbers arose from Rottmayer's study of Miller's work with Shaw; the other five are ...
read moreChris Rottmayer: Being
by Troy Dostert
Pianist Chris Rottmayer has been a valued presence in the Madison, Wisconsin jazz scene for some time, both as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin and as the leader of a couple of well-conceived albums. His Sunday at Pilars (Pilars, 2019) and So in Love (self-released, 2020) reveal a self-assured musician who can handle classic repertoire with authority. But his latest effort, Being, ups the ante by offering a collection of his own compositions, in this instance animated ...
read moreJohn La Barbera Big Band: Grooveyard
by Jack Bowers
Composer/arranger John La Barbera has been at the top of his game for more than half a century, and Grooveyard is simply another example of his undiminished artistry. Besides arranging everything--superbly, as always--La Barbera wrote six of the session's ten charming songs, escorting other treasures by Carl Perkins, Dave Brubeck, Curtis Fuller and Elvin Jones. As he writes his handsome and colorful big-band charts, La Barbera is always careful to observe Rule No. 1: they have to ...
read moreThe John La Barbera Big Band: Grooveyard
by Nicholas F. Mondello
The geometry, if you will, of a terrific big band recording is such that the three major elements--the players, the arrangements, and the performance--balance in every regard. Grooveyard from the John La Barbera Big Band is such an offering. The album features ten masterfully selected, arranged, and performed selections, each containing outstanding section, solo, and ensemble playing. Wes Montgomery's “Grooveyard" launches a hip, swinging first course in which tenor man Pat La Barbera and guitarist Brandon Coleman ...
read moreRufus Reid and Remembering Dr. Lonnie Smith
by Joe Dimino
We begin the 721st Episode of Neon Jazz with the legendary bassist Rufus Reid with the song “Sweet Loraine." The jazz world lost an icon, a master and a friend in Dr. Lonnie Smith and we pay tribute to his life through song and an interview conducted with the show some years back. This hour is full of great tunes from the likes of Leon Lee Dorsey, Jakob Bro and Larry Fuller. There is new music out from the very ...
read moreFrank Kimbrough: Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk
by Angelo Leonardi
Fino a che punto può spingersi la rilettura del songbook monkiano senza alterare l'estetica e la profondità emotiva del suo autore? Le rivisitazioni degli ultimi decenni hanno privilegiato l'esaltazione dei suoi tratti asimmetrici (le melodie sghembe, i conflitti ritmici, le armonie dissonanti) usando quei brani come pretesto per esplorazioni d'avanguardia. Quando si è usato quel repertorio in chiave mainstream (come palestra per sequenze d'assoli sulle armonie) se n'è svuotata la specificità, l'essenza profonda. Molti hanno usato l'uno ...
read morePrinceton University Jazz Festival 2023 Features Artemis, Rudresh Mahanthappa And Bird Calls, and Rufus Reid on April 15
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Jazz at Princeton University, helmed by acclaimed saxophonist/composer Rudresh Mahanthappa, presents the annual Princeton University Jazz Festival on Saturday, April 15. The festival features Artemis, Jazz at Princeton’s chair Rudresh Mahanthappa and his Bird Calls ensemble, jazz greats playing with Princeton’s exceptional student groups, and the legendary Rufus Reid with the Creative Large Ensemble. Free daytime performances, to be held outdoors on Richardson Lawn in front of Princeton’s Richardson Auditorium, begin at noon. A ticketed event with the Creative Large ...
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Jazz Masters Barry Harris And Rufus Reid Featured At 2017 Straight Ahead Jazz Camp
Source:
Adriana Prieto
From July 17-21 2017 The Jazz Institute of Chicago in collaboration with Columbia College Chicago will offer five days of interactive explorations of jazz via lectures, demonstrations, hands-on clinics and jam sessions during its 9th annual Straight Ahead Jazz Camp. Designed for adults age 18 and up and open to the general public, the camp provides an opportunity for jazz educators, music students, jazz enthusiasts and musicians to immerse themselves in the scholarship and performance of jazz. The camp is ...
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Registration Now Open For ISJAC Symposium - May 18-20, 2017
Source:
Scott Thompson Public Relations
2017 International Jazz Composers Symposium at the University of South Florida May 18-20, 2017 REGISTRATION FOR THE SYMPOSIUM NOW OPEN! TAKES PLACE MAY 18-20, 2017 Time is running out, so register now. Submission deadline is October 27th! The Mission of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers is threefold: To unite and serve the international community of jazz arrangers and composers; To advance the understanding and appreciation of jazz ...
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Music Education Monday: A rhythm section workshop with bassist Rufus Reid
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Today for Music Education Monday, you can watch the veteran bassist Rufus Reid as he leads a workshop in jazz rhythm section performance with students at Loyola University New Orleans. A California native, the 71-year-old Reid (pictured) studied music at Northwestern University and began his professional career in Chicago before moving in 1976 to New York City. He's recorded 17 albums as a leader, and worked with well-known musicians including Eddie Harris, Stan Getz, Art Farmer, J.J. Johnson, Dexter Gordon, ...
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Rufus Reid Big Band at Jazz Standard from February 26 to March 1
Source:
Scott Thompson Public Relations
2x Grammy Nominee 2015 QUIET PRIDE: The Elizabeth Catlett Project The Rufus Reid Big Band Quiet Pride & More! Jazz Standard 116 East 27th St. New York, NY 10016 Phone: 212-576-2232 Date: Thu., Feb. 26, - Sun., Mar. 1, 2015 Showtimes: Two 60-minute shows beginning at 7:30pm & 10:00pm, with one additional show at 11:45pm Friday & Saturday The Rufus Reid Big Band line-up: Rufus Reid - bass ...
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Motema Music Releases Award-Winning Composer Rufus Reid’s Quiet Pride - The Elizabeth Catlett Project, A Star-Studded, Large-Ensemble Suite, On February 11, 2014
Source:
GoMedia PR
His Five Movement Suite Pays Tribute to the Life and Work of Elizabeth Catlett, One of the Most Important African American Visual Artists of the 20th Century The inspiration for the epic, large ensemble work, Quiet Pride was Reid’s fascination with the sculptural work of Elizabeth Catlett, the great African American artist and civil rights activist, whose works can be found in the collections of the White House, the Museum of Modern Art, and of private collectors such as Bill ...
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Sligo Jazz Summer School And Festival 24-29 July 2012
Source:
Sligo Jazz Project
The best value summer school in Europe! Sligo Jazz Project, an organization run by musicians for musicians ensures all funds raised go towards keeping its annual main event— a six day intensive summer school and full blown jazz festival—as inclusive as possible and open to all musicians from all backgrounds! Sligo Jazz Project's stellar 2012 faculty Double Bass: Rufus Reid (USA) - John Goldsby (USA/Germany) Electric Bass: Michael Janisch (USA/UK) Vocals: Diana Torto (Italy) Drums: John Riley (USA) - Stephen ...
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Motéma Music Artist Rufus Reid: June/August 2011 Tour
Source:
Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
Motéma Music Artist RUFUS REID On Tour In Support of HUES OF A DIFFERENT BLUE The Brilliant Follow Up to Out Front (2010, Motema Music) June 5-6 @ 7:30 PM: Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Readings Concert, Miller Theater— Columbia University, NYC The American Composers Orchestra performs the Third Movement of Reid's Composition, “Mass Transit"—Metropolis June 9 @ 12:30 PM: Jazz on the Plaza St. Peter's Church, NYC , Featuring Reid with pianist Norman Simmons Free and ...
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On April 12, 2011 - Motéma Music will release Rufus Reid's - "Hues of a Different Blue"
Source:
Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
The Brilliant Follow Up to Out Front (2010, Motema Music)
Featuring the Out Front Trio of Reid, Steve Allee (piano) & Duduka Da Fonseca (drums), with very special guests, legendary saxophonist Bobby Watson, trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, saxophonist J.D. Allen & master Brazilian composer/guitarist Toninho Horta
As an artist, Rufus Reid defines evolution and growth. On the double bass, he seems to have reached the pinnacle of mastery on his instrument only to push the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic envelope further ...
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CD: Rufus Reid
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Rufus Reid, Out Front (Motéma). Passionate performances of compositions by its members highlight this album by the stalwart bassist's new trio. Reid's “Caress the Thought" evolves through changing atmospheres and rhythms into a crescendo and a peaceful resolution. Drummer Duduka Da Fonseca's “Doña Maria" alternates between the samba tradition of his native Brazil and the mainstream jazz of his adopted country. Pianist Steve Allee drew on twelve-tone music in “The Rise of the Row," but the mood of the piece ...
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Primary Instrument
Bass, acoustic
Location
Newark
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Credentials/Background
Reid has become one of the premiere educators of the last thirty years. His commitment to education and communicating the history of jazz is second to none. Indeed, it is hardly possible to separate his exuberance on the bandstand from his work as an educator, and his performances and lectures serve this common goal. As Dr. Billy Taylor has noted: “Look at who he’s taught, now stars in their own right, and other instrumentalists who’ve benefited from the wealth of information he communicates as second nature.”
Charles Mingus
bass, acoustic
Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic
Ron Carter
bass
Scott LaFaro
bass
Brian Bromberg
bass
Ray Brown
bass, acoustic
Esperanza Spalding
bass
Eddie Gomez
bass
Lonnie Plaxico
bass
Marc Johnson
bass
Arild Andersen
bass, acoustic
Omer Avital
bass, acoustic
Buster Williams
bass, acoustic
Cecil McBee
bass
Red Mitchell
bass
Jay Leonhart
bassArtists who share similar musical characteristics to Rufus Reid.
