Rufus Reid Shines On New Nick Finzer Album

Written By Mike Greenblatt

Fresh on the heels of legendary Teaneck bassist Rufus Reid, 80, receiving the Wharton Arts Lifetime Achievement Award (see 2/29/24 news section), he’s shown up on the new Nick Finzer album, Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of JJ Johnson on the Outside In Music label, released April 5. Reid was in JJ’s band for many years, and, along with pianist Renee Rosnes and drummer Lewis Nash (who also played with JJ), they provide the pulse for Finzer’s sterling trombone improvisations amid stop-on-a-dime ensemble playing. JJ Johnson was born 100 years ago in Indiana, and died in 2001 at 77. The trombonist-composer-arranger’s sound was hard bop. He had previously mastered swing in Count Basie’s orchestra. Here, the sound is pristine in a decidedly post-bop mode.

Finzer:  “Sometimes it is the nature of our industry to overlook the trombone, but as my mentor, Steve Turre, has said many times, `JJ Johnson did for the trombone what Charlie Parker did the saxophone.’ He was a true innovator of his time, and his innovations have lasted throughout his lifetime and beyond.”

PHOTO: Rufus Reid

(Advertisement)

Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

Previous

Embalmer Records Unearths Rare Metal Gems
Next

Pan American & Kramer’s Challenging Ambient Soundscape