Paul Rutherford (trombone player)

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Paul William Rutherford (born 29 February 1940 in Greenwich, South-east London) is a British free improvising trombonist.

He initially played saxophone but switched to trombone. During the 1960s he taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

He is a major player in the British free improvisation scene and part of the European free jazz scene. He was one of the first to use unorthodox playing techniques for improvisation. Rutherford was one of the first to use trombone multiphonics, i.e. he sings into the trombone and blows at the same time.

In 1970 Rutherford, guitarist Derek Bailey and bassist Barry Guy formed the improvising group Iskra 1903, which lasted until 1973. (This formation was documented on a double-LP from Incus, later reissued with much bonus material on the 3-CD set Chapter One (Emanem, 2000). A film soundtrack was separately released as Buzz Soundtrack.) The group was later revived with Philipp Wachsmann replacing Bailey, a phase of the group's life that lasted from roughly 1977 to 1995; its earlier work is documented on Chapter Two (Emanem, 2006) and its final recordings were issued on Maya (Iskra 1903) and Emanem (Frankfurt 1991). Iskra 1903 was one of the earliest free improvising groups to omit a drummer/percussionist, permitting the players to explore a range of textures and dynamics which set it apart from other contemporary improvising ensembles like SME and AMM. The group's unusual name means "Spark" in Russian; it was the title of a revolutionary newspaper edited by Lenin. The "1903" designation means "20th century music for trio"; occasionally Evan Parker played with the group (Iskra 1904) and Rutherford also at one point assembled a 12-piece ensemble called, inevitably, Iskra 1912.

Rutherford has played with Globe Unity Orchestra, London Jazz Composer's Orchestra, and the Mike Westbrook Orchestra. He is perhaps most famous for solo trombone improvisations. His album The Gentle harm of the bourgeoisie is a landmark recording in solo trombone.