Trombone for Lovers is an album by trombonist Roswell Rudd featuring Rudd playing well-known tunes in a broad range of ensemble contexts, with varying personnel. It was recorded at various locations, and was released by Sunnyside Records in 2013.[1][2]

Trombone for Lovers
Studio album by
Released2013
StudioClub House; Kaleidoscope Sound; NYC Labor Chorus's Rehearsal Space; Potterville International Sound; Studio IRG
GenreJazz
Length1:00:39
LabelSunnyside
SSC 1369
ProducerIvan Rubenstein-Gillis, Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd chronology
The Incredible Honk
(2011)
Trombone for Lovers
(2013)
August Love Song
(2016)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
PopMatters          [3]

In a review for PopMatters, Brent Faulkner wrote: "Track after track, Rudd's musicianship and sharpness impresses, making Trombone for Lovers shine radiantly."[3]

David Whiteis of Jazz Times stated: "Rudd's timbral and emotional range is as diverse as ever, and his gnarled imprecations keep pop ballads... and novelty-tinged offerings... from getting too cute."[4]

Writing for Latin Jazz Net, Raul Da Gama described the album as "a look at timeless standards, by which he has made them timeless again, re-creating them completely with all their ageless beauty, making them ripple through the flesh and the bone; through body and soul, touching the very nerve endings of the body with notes that are charged with emotion in every muted growl and angular human smear."[5]

Tom Hull commented: "With the 'Joe Hill' suite at the end, this could have been called Trombone for the Masses: I don't mind the rapper there but the NYC Labor Choir takes some getting used to even though I feel like saluting the political point. Everything else is just superb."[6]

Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News remarked: "Here is one of the goofiest jazz discs you'll encounter in a while. All of Rudd's muting – with plungers and otherwise – can't disguise the cognitive dissonance of his use of the trombone as yearning instrument of love."[7]

Track listing

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  1. "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (Stan Jones) – 3:10
  2. "Here, There and Everywhere" (Lennon–McCartney) – 3:33
  3. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (Frank Loesser) – 2:46
  4. "Trouble in Mind" (Richard M. Jones) – 5:15
  5. "Struttin' with Some Barbecue" (Don Raye, Lil Hardin Armstrong) – 2:11
  6. "Sleep Walk" (Santo & Johnny) – 3:01
  7. "Autumn Leaves" (Joseph Kosma) – 3:37
  8. "Green Onions" (Al Jackson Jr., Booker T. Jones, Lewie Steinberg, Steve Cropper) – 5:27
  9. "Tennessee Waltz" (Redd Stewart, Pee Wee King) – 3:57
  10. "Come Sunday" (Duke Ellington) – 4:49
  11. "Unchained Melody" (Alex North, Hy Zaret) – 4:30
  12. "September Song" (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) – 3:26
  13. "Funky Little Sweet Thing - Slow Dance for Fast Times" (Verna Gillis) – 4:00

"Joe Hill" (Alfred Hayes, Earl Robinson): four versions:

  1. "Joe Hill: Trombone Solo with Piano Accompaniment" – 3:31
  2. "Joe Hill: NYC Labor Chorus and Soloists" – 1:46
  3. "Joe Hill: The Relentless Walk" – 3:53
  4. "Joe Hill: Joe Hill Will Never Die" – 0:34

Personnel

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  • Roswell Rudd – trombone
  • John Medeski – organ
  • Richard Hammond – bass
  • Aaron Comess – drums
  • Steven Bernstein – slide trumpet (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 8)
  • Bob Dorough – vocals (track 2)
  • Fay Victor – vocals (track 4)
  • Rolf Sturm – guitar (tracks 7, 9, 12)
  • Michael Doucet – violin (tracks 7, 9, 12)
  • Gary Lucas – guitar (track 8)
  • Heather Masse – vocals (track 13)
  • Matthew Finck – guitar (track 13)
  • Ira Coleman – bass (track 13)
  • T Xiques – drums (track 13)
  • Dennis Nelson – piano (tracks 14, 17)
  • NYC Labor Chorus – vocals (tracks 15, 17)
  • Betty Ralston – vocals (track 15)
  • Judy Kleinberg – vocals (track 15)
  • Brent Kramer – vocals (track 15)
  • Eugene Hamond – vocals (track 15)
  • Susan Zugaib – vocals (track 15)
  • Sara Belcher-Barnes – vocals (track 15)
  • Denise Jones – vocals (track 15)
  • Barbara Bailey – vocals (track 15)
  • Jeff Vogel – vocals (track 15)
  • Reggie Bennett – vocals (rap) (track 16)
  • Jana Ballard – conductor (track 17)

References

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  1. ^ "Roswell Rudd: Trombone for Lovers". AllMusic. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "Roswell Rudd: Trombone for Lovers". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Faulkner, Brent (January 9, 2014). "Roswell Rudd: Trombone for Lovers". PopMatters. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Whiteis, David (January 3, 2014). "Roswell Rudd: Trombone for Lovers". Jazz Times. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  5. ^ Da Gama, Raul (December 22, 2013). "Roswell Rudd – Trombone for Lovers". Latin Jazz Net. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  6. ^ Hull, Tom. "The Incredible Honk". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Simon, Jeff (November 17, 2013). "Listening Post". The Buffalo News. Retrieved November 5, 2022.