Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college) and other genres of music, he was known primarily for his work in free and avant-garde jazz. Since 1962 Rudd had worked extensively with saxophonist Archie Shepp.
Rudd was born in Sharon, Connecticut. He attended the Hotchkiss School and graduated from Yale University, where he played with Eli's Chosen Six, a dixieland band of students that Rudd joined in the mid-'50s. The sextet played the boisterous trad jazz style of the day and recorded two albums, including one for Columbia Records. His collaborations with Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, John Tchicai, and Steve Lacy grew out of the lessons learned while playing rags and stomps for drunken college kids in Connecticut.
Rudd later taught ethnomusicology at Bard College and the University of Maine. On and off for a period of three decades, he assisted Alan Lomax with his world music song style (Cantometrics) and Global Jukebox projects.
In the 1960s, Rudd participated in free jazz recordings such as the New York Art Quartet; the soundtrack for the 1964 movie New York Eye and Ear Control; the album Communications by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra; and in collaborations with Don Cherry, Larry Coryell, Pharoah Sanders, and Gato Barbieri. Rudd has had lifelong friendships with saxophonists Archie Shepp and Steve Lacy and has performed and recorded the music of Thelonious Monk with Lacy.
Rudd and his producer and partner Verna Gillis went to Mali in 2000 and 2001. His album MALIcool (2001), a cross-cultural collaboration with kora player Toumani Diabaté and other Malian musicians, represented the first time the trombone had been featured in a recording of Malian traditional music.
In 2004, he brought his Trombone Shout Band to perform at the 4th Festival au Désert in Essakane, Tombouctou Region, Mali. In 2005, he extended his reach further, recording an album with the Mongolian Buryat Band, a traditional music group of musicians from Mongolia and Buryatia, entitled Blue Mongol. Rudd conducted master classes and workshops both in the United States and around the world. He was a resident of Kerhonkson, New York.
Awards and honors
Nomination: Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance Male and Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Monk's Dream (1999)
Trombonist of the Year, Jazz Journalists Association (2003–2005, 2009, 2010)
Best Trombonist, Down Beat Critics' Poll (2010)
Discography
As leader
1965: Roswell Rudd (America)
1966: Everywhere (also released as part of Mixed)
1973: Numatik Swing Band
1974: Flexible Flyer (Freedom)
1976: Blown Bone (Emanem)
1976: Inside Job with Enrico Rava, Dave Burrell, Stafford James, Harold White (Arista/Freedom)
1978: The Definitive Roswell Rudd (Horo)
1982: Regeneration with Steve Lacy, Misha Mengelberg, Kent Carter, Han Bennink (Soul Note)
1996: The Unheard Herbie Nichols–Vols. 1 & 2 (CIMP)
1999: New York Art Quartet: 35 Reunion (DIW)
1999: Monk's Dream (Universal/Verve)
2000: Broad Strokes (Knitting Factory)
2001: Eventuality: The Charlie Kohlhase Quintet Plays the Music of Roswell Rudd (NADA)
2001: Roswell Rudd and Archie Shepp Live in New York (Universal)
2002: MALIcool (Universal/Sunnyside)
2005: Blue Mongol (Sunnyside)
2006: El Espiritu Jibaro (Sunnyside)
2007: Keep Your Heart Right (Sunnyside)
2008: El Encuentro (Mojito)
2013: Trombone for Lovers (Sunnyside)
2016: August Love Song with Heather Masse (Red House)
2016: Strength & Power (RareNoise)
2017: Embrace (RareNoise)
As sideman
1957 Eli's Chosen 6, Yale University Dixieland Band (Columbia)
1961 New York City R&B, Buell Neidlinger, Cecil Taylor (Mosaic)
1962 Into the Hot, Gil Evans/Cecil Taylor (Impulse)
1963 School Days, Steve Lacy, Dennis Charles, Henry Grimes (Hathut)
1964 Four for Trane, with Archie Shepp (Impulse)
1964 New York Art Quartet, John Tchicai, Milford Graves (ESP-Disk)
1966 Until, with Robin Kenyatta (Atlantic)
1966 Archie Shepp Live in San Francisco, with Archie Shepp (Impulse)
1966 Mama Too Tight, with Archie Shepp (Impulse)
1966 New York Eye and Ear Control, Don Cherry, Albert Ayler, John Tchicai and Gary Peacock (ESP-Disk)
1967 Live at Donaueschingen (SABA)
1968 The Jazz Composer's Orchestra
1969 The Third World, Gato Barbieri (Flying Dutchman)
1971 Escalator over the Hill, Carla Bley (JCOA)
1971 Liberation Music Orchestra, Charlie Haden (Impulse)
1972 Roswell Rudd, New York Art Quartet (America)
1974 Village on the Left, Marcello Melis & Don Moye (Soul Note)
1975 Trickles, Steve Lacy, Beaver Harris, Kent Carter (Soul Note)
1976 Maine (Bvhaast)
1976 Dinner Music, with Carla Bley (Watt)
1977 The New Village on the Left, with Marcello Melis and Enrico Rava, Don Moye, Gruppo Rubanu (Black Saint)
1977 European Tour 1977, with Carla Bley (Watt)
1978 Enrico Rava Quartet, Enrico Rava, J.F. JennyClarke & Aldo Romano (ECM)
1979 Divine Song, with Sangeeta Michael Berardi, Rashied Ali, Eddie Gomez, Archie Shepp
1979 Sharing, Giorgio Gaslini (Discgidella Quercia)
1979 Musique Mecanique with Carla Bley (Watt)
1981 Interpretations of Monk,
1984 That's the Way I Feel Now
1992 Darn it, with Paul Haines (American Clave)
1994 Dark Was the Night, with Allen Lowe
1995 Wild Weekend, NRBQ & Terry Adams (Virgin)
1995 Woyzeck's Death, with Allen Lowe (Enja)
1996 Bladik, Keith Tippett et al. (Cuneiform)
1996 Rumors of an Incident, with Elton Dean (Slam)
1996 Terrible, NRBQ & Terry Adams (New World)
1997 Newsense, with Elton Dean (Slam)
2002 Seize the Time, Nexus Orchestra (Splasch)
2003 Sex Mob, Dime Grind Palace (Ropeadope)
2006 Dry Bones, with Sonic Youth, The Harry Smith Project (Shout! Factory)
2008 Concertos, Michael Mantler (ECM)
All Through The Night
Roswell Rudd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For I'm always so alone
Till the day draws to an end.
But when the sun goes down
And the moon comes through,
To the monotone of the evening's drone
I'm all alone with you.
I delight in your love,
All through the night, you're so close to me.
All through the night, from a height far above,
You and your love brings me ecstasy.
When dawn comes to waken me
You're never there at all.
I know you've forsaken me,
Till the shadows fall.
But then once again
I can dream,
I've the right
To be close to you
All through the night.
The lyrics of Roswell Rudd's song All Through The Night express the singer's loneliness during the day and his comfort in the night when he can be with his loved one. The first verse sets up the contrast between the day and the night, with the day being the enemy because it leaves the singer feeling alone until it ends. The night, however, is the singer's friend because it brings the comfort of being with his loved one. The description of the evening's monotone and the singer's aloneness with his partner creates a sense of intimacy that comes with the night.
The chorus celebrates the blissful state of being in love with somebody every moment of the night. The repetition of "All through the night" emphasizes the continuity of the feelings of the singer, which are "delight", "closeness", and "ecstasy".
In the second verse, the singer acknowledges the bitterness of the dawn, which means the end of the night and the departure of his loved one. Although the singer feels forsaken in the daylight, he still has the right to dream and feel the closeness of his partner, "All through the night".
This song was composed in 1934 by Cole Porter for his musical Anything Goes. The song is a popular Jazz standard that has been covered by various artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Chet Baker.
Line by Line Meaning
The day is my enemy, the night my friend,
I find myself constantly alone during the day, which seems to be an adversary, while the night is a friend that keeps me company.
For I'm always so alone
I experience great loneliness in my life.
Till the day draws to an end.
Only when the day is over can my loneliness be relieved.
But when the sun goes down
As soon as the sun begins to set,
And the moon comes through,
and the moon becomes visible in the sky,
To the monotone of the evening's drone
as the sounds of the night start to become a monotonous hum,
I'm all alone with you.
I feel as if I am alone with only my thoughts of you by my side.
All through the night,
As the night progresses,
I delight in your love,
I rejoice in the memories of love I have experienced with you.
All through the night, you're so close to me.
Even though we are physically apart, you remain close to my heart and thoughts.
All through the night, from a height far above,
As if looking down at ourselves from a great distance,
You and your love brings me ecstasy.
The mere thought of you and our love brings me a sense of overwhelming pleasure.
When dawn comes to waken me
As the dawn arrives to wake me up from my dreams,
You're never there at all.
The reality of my situation hits me, and I realize that you are not physically with me.
I know you've forsaken me,
As the loneliness of the day starts to creep back in, I feel as if you have abandoned me.
Till the shadows fall.
But as soon as the night begins to fall once more,
But then once again
I am as happy as I can be once more.
I can dream,
I am allowed to dream and imagine that you are with me.
I've the right
I have the freedom to think and feel whatever I wish,
To be close to you
especially when it comes to feeling close to you.
All through the night.
Throughout the entirety of the night.
Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Traditional, Evan Jolly
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind