Bad To The ‘Bone Trombonist Roswell Rudd Will Play At Hobart’S

He is a pioneering trombonist, a player whose raucous and rowdy style has influenced many who followed him.

A performer since the 1950s, Roswell Rudd has recorded more than 50 albums and played with jazz names like Steve Lacy, Archie Shepp and Herbie Nichols.

And tonight, Rudd will perform in Spokane at Hobart’s Jazz Lounge at Cavanaughs Fourth Avenue. Three outstanding players will join him to round out the quartet: saxophonist and flutist Rob Scheps, drummer Alan Jones and bassist Dan Schulte.

“This is a modern, progressive quartet, sure to open your ears to some creative music,” says show organizer Gary Edighoffer.

Rudd, now 64, was born in Sharon, Conn., and began studying French horn at the age of 7. His career started in the mid-1950s when he began performing in New Orleans- and Chicago-style traditional jazz bands, playing Dixieland trombone with a variety of groups including Eli’s Chosen Six.

In the early 1960s, he recorded with Cecil Taylor and worked with renowned pianist Herbie Nichols. Fascinated by Thelonious Monk, Rudd and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy formed a quartet that played Monk’s music exclusively.

In 1964 Rudd’s playing became more extreme with the New York Art Quartet, a seminal free jazz group. In the later ‘60s, Rudd hooked up with tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp and went on to collaborate with performers like Charlie Haden and his Liberation Music Orchestra, Gato Barbieri, Beaver Harris and Lonnie Liston.

Rudd also spent time teaching at Bard College and The University of Maine.

Rudd, who now lives in New York, has been hailed by many critics over the years. The New York Times called him “a trombonist of such sweeping power and majesty that he transcends all styles.” And from The New Yorker magazine came this praise: “Rudd gets more trombone out of his instrument than any colleague, past or present.”

Rudd will be joined tonight by Scheps, who — along with quartet members Jones and Schulte — is from Portland. Scheps plays the tenor and soprano sax as well as the flute. He has toured internationally and has performed and recorded with musicians such as Mel Torme, Gunther Schuller and Manhattan Transfer.

ON STAGE Roswell Rudd Roswell Rudd performs at Hobart’s Jazz Lounge tonight. Music begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. Roswell Rudd performs at Hobart’s Jazz Lounge tonight at 7:30.