Rufus Reid Named Harvard University Jazz Master in
Residence
DURING APRIL RESIDENCY, ACCLAIMED COMPOSER AND BASSIST WILL
PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC CONVERSATION AND PERFORM IN CONCERT
(Cambridge, MA)—Composer and bassist Rufus Reid, whose “luscious sound and
buoyant swing can levitate an ensemble clear off the bandstand” (The New Yorker), is
the 2016 Harvard University Jazz Master in Residence, sponsored by the Office for the
Arts at Harvard (OFA) and Harvard Jazz Bands (Yosvany Terry and Mark Olson,
conductors). In addition to rehearsing and performing with the Harvard Jazz Bands, Reid
will meet with the Harvard Wind Ensemble (Mark Olson, conductor) to rehearse his work
for wind band, “Joy in the Oasis,” and participate in two events open to the public:
Wednesday, April 6, 4 pm: A Conversation with Rufus Reid moderated by Ingrid
Monson, Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music. Holden Chapel, Harvard
Yard, Cambridge. Presented by the OFA Learning From Performers program.
Admission free (tickets or RSVPs not required); seating first-come, first served, subject
to venue capacity.
Saturday, April 9, 8 pm: “The Eloquent One: Celebrating Rufus Reid,” a tribute
concert featuring Rufus Reid with the Harvard Jazz Bands, Sanders Theatre,
45 Quincy St., Cambridge. Tickets are $15, students and seniors $8, available through
the Harvard Box Office, www.boxoffice.harvard.edu; or by calling 617.496.2222 (phone
and online orders subject to service fees). Free parking is available at the Broadway
Garage, 7 Felton St.
“[Rufus Reid’s] work is a virtual catalog of modern bass technique, tempered by his
infallible musicianship. The man has taste...he consistently offers up an earthy tone,
flawless intonation, and fluid finger work. Plus, you can set the clock by his impeccable
time.” (DownBeat). Born in 1944 in Atlanta and raised in Sacramento, California, where he
played the trumpet in school, Rufus Reid graduated from Northwestern University with a
performance degree in double bass, having studied with Warren Benfield and Joseph
Guastefeste of the Chicago Symphony.
Reid has toured and recorded with Eddie Harris, Nancy Wilson, Harold Land and Bobby
Hutcherson, Lee Konitz, the Thad Jones and Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Dexter Gordon, J.J.
Johnson, Art Farmer, Stan Getz, Kenny Burrell, Kenny Barron and countless others. He
continues to record, adding to his extensive catalogue of recordings, eighteen of which are
under his own name. Of “Hues of a Different Blue” (Motema, 2011)—which includes his
composition “The Eloquent One”—Mark Keresman of Jazz Inside magazine wrote: “‘Hues’
should be considered a sterling, definitive exemplar of what an ideal jazz album should
be—fabulous musicianship in service of the music, expansive tunes played with
succinctness and restraint and variety.”
In recent years, Reid has become a composer and bandleader, including writing for string
orchestra, jazz ensembles, concert bands, double bass ensembles, and solo bass. His
ambitious project, “Quiet Pride—the Elizabeth Catlett Project” (Motema Music, 2014), an
homage to the visual artist, is in five movements for 20-piece orchestra. It earned two
GRAMMY nominations in 2015.
Reid is equally known as an exceptional educator. He and Dr. Martin Krivin created the Jazz
Studies & Performance Program at William Paterson University, with notable faculty and a
focus on small ensemble performance. Reid retired after 20 years but continues to teach,
conducting master classes, workshops, and residencies around the world. His book, The
Evolving Bassist, published in 1974, continues to be recognized as the industry standard
for the definitive bass method.
The Office for the Arts at Harvard Jazz Program brings artists of distinction in this uniquely
American art form to the university. Whether world-renowned masters or emerging artists,
they are honored and connected to students through workshops, rehearsals, and
performance over a period of weeks. Artists are encouraged to pursue ideas that have not
previously been available to them and share this process with Harvard students, school
children, and public audiences. New works are often commissioned. Guest musicians—
often isolated from the liberal arts environment—and students both benefit from this
educational exchange. In certain cases, eminent artists are named “Harvard University Jazz
Master in Residence.”