Rufus Reid - The ever evolving bassist!

Interview with Jazz Legend, Rufus Reid

In this video, I have the enormous pleasure of welcoming one of the double bass world's most renowned and celebrated artists, Rufus Reid. Known for his work as a sideman, bandleader, composer, educator and hard-swinging bassist, Rufus is someone who has been a first-call bassist since the early 1970s. We discuss topics such as his early influences, the legacy of his book the Evolving Bassist, the International Society of Bassists (ISB), playing with legendary artists including Benny Golson, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Dexter Gordon, Nancy Wilson, Jimmy Heath, Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra, Kenny Barron, Lee Konitz, Stan Getz, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Eddie Harris and many more.

We also hear some beautiful notes from his beloved 1805 Josef Rieger double bass towards the end of our conversation. I would like to express my gratitude to Rufus for his enormous contribution to the double bass world through his music and teachings. As someone who has done so much for our beloved instrument, he really is the epitome of the Evolving Bassist!

- Geoff Chalmers (DDB Founder and Host)

Please note, we re-uploaded this video to improve the audio quality, therefore the original views and comments were lost.

TIMECODES:

00:00 Introduction
01:36 Rufus' Early Influences
06:09 Meeting Ray Brown
07:38 Going back to school
11:15 Meeting Gary Peacock
12:30 Learning bass in Seattle
16:04 Writing the Evolving Bassist
22:30 Double Bass Duets
27:10 Advice for Students
28:54 Jamey Abersold and J.J Johnson
31:55 The International Society of Bassists
41:42 Rufus Reid's Double Bass
50:22 Solo bass performance
52:52 Strings and gear
56:11 What's new?

FIND RUFUS ONLINE:

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Quiet Pride - The Elizabeth Catlett Project

Behind the Scenes Photos

Legends of jazz - Video Series

Rufus Reid also appeared in our 2020 video series, Legends of Jazz Bass where he is joined by John Patitucci, John Clayton, Ron Carter, Chuck Israels, Brian Bromberg, Carlos Henriquez, Larry Grenadier, Linda May Han Oh and Robert Hurst.