ROSWELL RUDD: Trombone Tribe
Sunnyside, 2009

MODERN JAZZ – Adventurous elder Rudd celebrates his instrument in grand style. Not only are there three trombones in the album’s core sextet (Rudd, Deborah Weiss, Steve Swell); he also teams up with five more star trombonists on tracks 3&4, plus the bands Bonerama (6), Sexmob (10) and the Gangbe Brass Band of Benin (11-15)! That’s a whole lotta horns and, when it clicks, it’s a lot of fun too.

Roswell Rudd, Steve Swell, Deborah Weisz, Eddie Bert, Sam Burtis, Josh Roseman, Ray Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon - trombones
Bob Stewart - tuba
Henry Grimes - bass
Barry Altschul - drums

* * * | Fo’s Picks: 3, 4, 5, 6, 10

1. 0:26 – horn fanfare
2. 4:18 – relaxed sliding shuffle: fades out / quiet solo / fades back in
3. 3:37 – Eastern European circus march, playful trombone choir + drums
4. 3:03 – massed trombones in a relaxed, raunchy, stripper/crime jazz swing
5. 7:41 – sextet: lumpy intro, then rolls along; distinctive trombone solos + tuba
6. 6:37 – midtempo Bonerama funk: great drum beat, sassy ‘bones & guitar
7. 5:10 – perky, with hints of Africa and New Orleans; bass & tuba solos
8. 6:35 – shuffling swing, kind of muddy: solos have a good dose of humor
9. 6:52 – improvisational: groove builds, falls apart, violin break!, new groove
10. 6:25 – drunken Herbie Nichols march with Sexmob: so much going on!

[11-15: a short suite, best when played together]

11. 2:11 – nice little West African groove; solos wander off, piece scatters
12. 0:30 – slow horn interlude
13. 1:12 – slow: vocal chorus repeats a spiritual lyric
14. 2:56 – upbeat groove, trumpet & trombone converse, drifts away
15. 0:44 – instrumental version of #12 (same melody as #1, by the way)

[ Fo ] 06/20/09