John Rapson

Ira John Rapson (born February 4, 1953 in Gary , Indiana ) is an American jazz musician ( trombonist and composition ) who directs the jazz studies at the University of Iowa.

Live and act

John Rapson began playing the piano at the age of five and later switched to the trombone. He graduated from Westmont College in 1976 and earned a Masters in Composition from California State University in 1981 . He then took private composition lessons from Barney Childs , Nobuya Matsuda and Henry Brant .

Rapson taught in Westmont from 1980 to 1990; he also played in Los Angeles with Vinny Golia (1979-90). He also worked with Tim Berne (1980, 1986), Walter Thompson (1980), Bobby Bradford (1986–90) and John Carter (1988–90). Since the 1980s he has also been active with his own ensembles; from 1982 to 1985 he worked with a sextet with West Coast jazz musicians such as Golia, Wayne Peet , Alex Cline and Roberto Miguel Miranda . In his octet, with which he worked from 1985 to 1990, played alongside Golia and Cline, Ken Filiano and Steve Fowler . In 1986/87 Rapson led a trio with Golia and Miranda.

In 1990 Rapson moved to the east coast and studied ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University . He also played with Anthony Braxton in 1992 ; During this time he also worked with Ed Blackwell (1990-91), Jay Hoggard (1990-92) and Allen Lowe (1991/92). From 1992 to 1999 he again led a sextet, which u. a. Braxton, Bobby Bradford and Alex Cline included. In 1993 he became a member of the University of Iowa Music Faculty , where he has since served as Director of Jazz Studies and as the head of the school band. In 1994 he led his own big band , the OftENsemble , and in 1996 he founded the Oddball Trio Plus Trombone with Steve Grismore . He also worked there with musicians such as Billy Higgins , Carla Bley , Matt Wilson , Charlie Kohlhase and the Either / Orchestra .

Prizes and awards

Rapson was honored at the 1989 Music Guild of America's annual composition competition. His album Lost Art Cafe was among the top ten jazz albums of 1999 by Jazz Weekly.com. In 2002 he was awarded first prize at the Julius Hemphill Competition for his composition "Riff Bass Bridge Head" (from the album Daydreams from the Prairie ).

Discographic notes

Albums under your own name

• Bu-Wah (Nine Winds, 1986)
• Bing ( Sound Aspects , 1990)
• Dances & Orations ( Music & Arts , 1996), with Anthony Braxton, Bobby Bradford , Alex Cline , William Roper
• Water and Blood (Nine Winds, 2001)

Albums as a sideman

• Time Berne: 7X (Empire Records, 1980)
• Vinny Golia Large Ensemble: Facts of Their Own Lives (Nine Winds, 1988)
• Vinny Golia: Pilgrimage to Obscurity (Nine Winds, 1989)
• Julius Hemphill and Allen Lowe : New Tango '92: After Astor Piazzolla (Fairhaven, 1991)
• Doc Cheatham and David Murray : Mental Strain at Dawn: A Modern Portrait of Louis Armstrong (Stash Records, 1992)
• Anthony Braxton: Four (Ensemble) Compositions ( Black Saint , 1993)

swell

• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
• Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians