ANFTD #40: Roswell Rudd

Trombonist and composer Roswell Rudd has been a force in American music for over 60 years. Emerging from the brass and Dixieland bands of New England colleges in the mid-1950s, Rudd went on to New York to join fellow-seekers Steve Lacy, Herbie Nichols, Archie Shepp, Milford Graves, Cecil Taylor, Carla Bley, Charlie Haden and many others. An important aspect of Rudd’s work came about in doing research for Alan Lomax, categorizing and analyzing hundreds of hours of musical field recordings from around the globe over a span of several decades. He credits this work with deepening his understanding of musical systems, giving him the ability to travel anywhere in the world and fit into disparate musical traditions and practices.

Rudd and his partner, producer Verna Gillis, have traveled the world since 2001, producing ground-breaking collaborations with musicians from Mali, Mongolia, China and Siberia. Roswell Rudd conducts master classes and workshops, as well as continuing to perform. His most recent recording is a collaboration with the vocalist Heather Masse entitled August Love Song.

THE OLDERS, Roswell Rudd and Verna Gillis, are ready to release their new song/video AWESOME & GRUESOME.

We’d like to give a special THANK YOU to Verna Gillis for her help in creating this episode. Podcast is edited by Geoff Countryman.

Play