Willie Ruff
Encyclopedia
Willie Ruff is the hornist and bassist
of the Mitchell-Ruff Duo (with pianist Dwike Mitchell) and one of the founders of the W. C. Handy Music Festival
. He was born in Florence, Alabama
. The duo regularly performs and lectures all over the United States, Asia, Africa and Europe. Ruff attended the Yale School of Music
as an undergraduate and graduate student, and has been a faculty member there since 1971, teaching music history, ethnomusicology
, and arranging. In 1976-1977, he held a visiting appointment at Duke University
, where he oversaw the jazz program and directed the Duke Jazz Ensemble
. He is a 1994 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
.
Ruff is founding Director of the Duke Ellington Fellowship Program
at Yale
, a community based organization sponsoring artists mentoring and performing with Yale students and young musicians from the New Haven Public School System.
In 1992, Ruff's memoir
, titled "A Call to Assembly," was awarded the Deems Taylor ASCAP award. He has written profusely about Paul Hindemith
, one of his teachers at Yale, and on his professional experiences with the American jazz composers, Duke Ellington
and Billy Strayhorn
.
The Mitchell-Ruff Duo was formed in 1955 when Mitchell and Ruff left Lionel Hampton
's band to form their own group. Mitchell and Ruff first met in 1947, when they were servicemen stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base, near Columbus, Ohio
. Mitchell, a 17-year-old pianist with the unit band, needed a bass player for an Air Force
radio show, and he saw what he thought was a likely candidate in Ruff.
With Gil Evans
With Bobby Hutcherson
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
of the Mitchell-Ruff Duo (with pianist Dwike Mitchell) and one of the founders of the W. C. Handy Music Festival
W. C. Handy Music Festival
The W. C. Handy Music Festival is held annually in Florence, Alabama, sponsored by the Music Preservation Society, Inc., in honor of Florence native W. C...
. He was born in Florence, Alabama
Florence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....
. The duo regularly performs and lectures all over the United States, Asia, Africa and Europe. Ruff attended the Yale School of Music
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music is one of the twelve professional schools at Yale University and one of the premier music conservatories in the world....
as an undergraduate and graduate student, and has been a faculty member there since 1971, teaching music history, ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
, and arranging. In 1976-1977, he held a visiting appointment at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where he oversaw the jazz program and directed the Duke Jazz Ensemble
Duke Ambassadors
The Duke Ambassadors were a student-run jazz big band, active at Duke University from 1934-1964. Student-run big bands continued in 1969 as the Duke Stage Band and from 1971-1974 as the Duke Jazz Ensemble...
. He is a 1994 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame was founded in 1978, and opened a museum on September 18, 1993, with a mission "to foster, encourage, educate, and cultivate a general appreciation of the medium of jazz music as a legitimate, original and distinctive art form indigenous to America...
.
Ruff is founding Director of the Duke Ellington Fellowship Program
Duke Ellington Fellowship Program
The Duke Ellington Fellowship Program is a community based organization which sponsors artists mentoring and performing with Yale University students and young musicians from the New Haven public school system....
at Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, a community based organization sponsoring artists mentoring and performing with Yale students and young musicians from the New Haven Public School System.
In 1992, Ruff's memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, titled "A Call to Assembly," was awarded the Deems Taylor ASCAP award. He has written profusely about Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
, one of his teachers at Yale, and on his professional experiences with the American jazz composers, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and Billy Strayhorn
Billy Strayhorn
William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
.
The Mitchell-Ruff Duo was formed in 1955 when Mitchell and Ruff left Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
's band to form their own group. Mitchell and Ruff first met in 1947, when they were servicemen stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base, near Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. Mitchell, a 17-year-old pianist with the unit band, needed a bass player for an Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
radio show, and he saw what he thought was a likely candidate in Ruff.
Discography
- Strayhorn: A Mitchell-Ruff Interpretation - Kepler Label - CD MR-2421
- Dizzy Gillespie & The Mitchell-Ruff Duo, Vol. 1 - Kepler Label - CD 2412
- Breaking the Silence - The Mitchell-Ruff Duo - Kepler Label - CD 2380
- Virtuoso Elegance in Jazz - The Mitchell Ruff Duo - Kepler Label - M-R 1234
- Les McCann - The Mitchell Ruff Trio- 20 Special Fingers
As Sideman
With Miles DavisMiles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
- Miles AheadMiles AheadMiles Ahead is a jazz album by Miles Davis that was released in 1957 on Columbia CL 1041. This was the first album following Birth of the Cool that Davis recorded with Gil Evans, with whom he would go on to release albums such as Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain...
(Columbia, 1957) - Porgy and BessPorgy and Bess (Miles Davis album)Porgy and Bess is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1958 on Columbia Records. The album features arrangements by Davis and collaborator Gil Evans from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. The album was recorded in four sessions on July 22, July 29, August 4, and August 18,...
(Columbia, 1958) - Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio RecordingsMiles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio RecordingsMiles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings is a box set of music by jazz musicians Miles Davis and Gil Evans originally released on CD in 1996 and remastered and re-released in 2004. It collects work from 1957 through 1968 at Columbia Records recording studios.Miles Davis and...
(Columbia/Legacy, 1996)
With Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
- Gil Evans & TenGil Evans & TenGil Evans & Ten is the first album by pianist, conductor, arranger and composer Gil Evans as a leader, released on the Prestige label in 1957...
(Prestige, 1957)
With Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...
- Head OnHead On (Bobby Hutcherson album)Head On is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson recorded in 1971 and released on the Blue Note label. The album was rereleased on CD with three additional recordings from the sessions as bonus tracks.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1971)
External links
- Willie Ruff website