Multiphonics Trombone Exponent Paul Rutherford Dies
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Paul Rutherford, a leading figure on the British free and improvising jazz scenes for many years, has died, at the age of 67. Best known for his pioneering use of multiphonics (where the player sings into the mouthpiece while playing) Rutherford formed the group Iskra 1903 with guitarist Derek Bailey and bassist Barry Guy in the 1970s which lasted with a different line-up until the mid-1990s. Rutherford also played with Mike Westbrook and the free jazz leviathan Globe Unity Orchestra but also liked to perform solo and recorded albums such as The Gentle Harm of the Bourgeoisie.
Like Albert Mangelsdorff, the feted German trombonist, Rutherford took an interest in multiphonics and by using this technique and through his long term commitment to freely improvised music he became a totemic figure on the UK free scene.