Bagpipes & Jazz???

**Retro Red** · 10th April 07, 03:32 PM

Whoa, this was unexpected... a black dude playing Jazz on bagpipes!

Any of you ever heard of Rufus Harley?

I just found out about him the other day when the new Collector's Choice Music catalog came in the mail. There on the back cover of the catalog was this album of a black guy playing bagpipes - that definitely caught my eye (ouch)!

I've listened to some samples of his music & think I'm going to have to pick up at least one of his albums.

Here's a link to his Wikipedia biography. I love the part where it explains that when police would show up from neighbors complaining about him practicing his bagpipes, he'd ask them, "Do I look like I'm Irish or Scottish to you?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Harley

Here's a photo of Rufus on his 1972 album, Re-Creation of the Gods, with him wearing his trademark Viking-style horned helmut & kilt - pretty wild!

.

**beloitpiper** · 10th April 07, 03:43 PM

Hmmm...I think I've heard of him...

Haha, actually, he's quite famous amongst us pipers. I don't know how well-known he is among the laiety.

**LK-13** · 10th April 07, 04:00 PM

well hey why not?
after all AC/DC brought the Pipes to Rock & Roll.

**Tattoo Bradley** · 10th April 07, 04:33 PM

I've definitely heard of him. Beloit's right, he's some what of a cult hero amongst pipers... from what I understand...

**drobin** · 10th April 07, 04:37 PM

Wow, just read his bio (thanks for the link). I'm pretty sure think I'm going to have to get an ablum too.

**Livingston** · 10th April 07, 08:07 PM

His picture has been posted on here before.

**mbhandy** · 10th April 07, 09:21 PM

He died last year.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...id=40301&rfi=6

Thank goodness his music has been recorded.

MrBill

**Pour1Malt** · 10th April 07, 11:51 PM

guid oan him!

luv tae hear his music...

the kilt is a definite DINNAE though!

**wgority** · 11th April 07, 04:09 AM

Rufus was a pretty cool guy. His music was fun and by no means in the piping mainstream. In fact, to the majority of the piping world, he was a heretic. I was lucky enough to meet him at the Tartan Day parade in NYC a few years back and he talked about his unifying theory of music and how it touches everything in the world.

Other jazz-ish recordings including bagpipes include "Farewell to Decorum" and "The Bees Knees" by Hamish Moore and Dick Lee. I thoroughly recommend that disc. The clarinet/sax and backing lines on these discs is where the jazz comes in. The bagpipe parts are fairly straight-ahead trad which fit the other lines beautifully. A pretty cool effect overall.

Bill