Paul Rutherford - addenda... and a small tribute...

I received some more details about the unfortunate death of Paul Rutherford in the comments section - also regarding the funeral arrangements. There was apparently a mix-up about the times - but Bruce Rutherford, Paul's nephew, sent the correct details:

... However you have made a mistake on the funeral arrangements. The time is actually 2.30pm and not 10.30am Thursday August 16 at 10:30 am at Lewisham Crematorium in Hither Green Cemetery on Verdant Lane, London SE6 1JX. [The nearest station is Grove Park (trains from Charing Cross, Waterloo East & London Bridge). From there, it is about a 20 minute walk, or buses 124 or 284 can be boarded from the bus stop in Downham Way.]

Also in the comments are a couple of tributes:

Sent from Jean-Michel:

From MD
As you may already know, Paul Rutherford was found dead in his flat in S.E. London on August 5. The cause of death was sclerosis of the liver and a ruptured aorta.

Paul was one of the pioneers of free improvisation, and many consider him to have been the finest trombonist and one of the finest improvisers in the area. He was certainly a very distinctive musician – many players had been influenced by him to some degree (not only trombonists), but no one sounded anything like him. Among his most important performances were his unaccompanied solos, and those in his trio Iskra 1903 that contained Barry Guy and either Derek Bailey or Philipp Wachsmann. He was a gentle, kind man with an outrageous sense of humour, and will be sorely missed. However, he also suffered from bouts of depression, and was frustrated that he was not recognised more widely.

And from anonymous:

I had the pleasure of presenting Paul with drummer Harris Eisenstadt and bassist Torsten Muller at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico in January of 2006. The performance was stellar and Paul was one of the kindest men I have ever met. I will never forget the performances, the evening spent with him, talking about the great musicians he played with and the music he made over the years and the scene we are trying to foster out here in the high desert that he was so supportive of. I know he was not recognized as widely as he should have been but every person who was in the audience that night walked out at the end of the show a true believer in the amazing talent of this man. He will be dearly missed.



As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was at the Freedom of the City gig in May when Paul played with Marcio Mattos and Veryan Weston. He was tremendous... Here is a section from their set which displays all the qualities that for me - and many others - made him the pre-eminent free improvising trombone player...

Paul Rutherford (trombone) Marcio Mattos (cello) Veryan Weston (piano)

A 5.01 minute section from their set at the Freedom of the City Festival, Monday May 7th 2007.
Download