Willie Henry Ruff Jr. (September 1, 1931 – December 24, 2023) was an American jazz musician, specializing in the French horn and double bass, and a music scholar and educator, primarily as a Yale professor from 1971 to 2017.
[3] Together as the Mitchell-Ruff Duo, they played as "second act" to artists such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie.
[4] Ruff was chosen by John Hammond to be the bass player for the recording sessions of Songs of Leonard Cohen, an album first released in 1967.
[9] Ruff's classes at Yale, often with partner Dwike Mitchell, were free-flowing jam sessions: roller-coaster rides through the colors of American Improvisational Music.
[12] In 2000, he received the Connecticut Governor's Arts Award for his work with the Duke Ellington Fellowship Program.
[1] Ruff was known for uncovering links between traditional black gospel music and unaccompanied psalm singing.
[1] With Clifford Coulter With Miles Davis With Gil Evans With Benny Golson With Bobby Hutcherson With Milt Jackson With Quincy Jones With Lalo Schifrin With Jimmy Smith With Sonny Stitt With Leonard Cohen