Age, Biography and Wiki

Willie Ruff (Willie Henry Ruff Jr.) was born on 1 September, 1931 in Sheffield, Alabama, U.S., is an American jazz musician and educator (1931–2023). Discover Willie Ruff's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 92 years old?

Popular As Willie Henry Ruff Jr.
Occupation Musician
Age 92 years old
Zodiac Sign Virgo
Born 1 September 1931
Birthday 1 September
Birthplace Sheffield, Alabama, U.S.
Date of death 24 December, 2023
Died Place Killen, Alabama, U.S.
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 1 September. He is a member of famous musician with the age 92 years old group.

Willie Ruff Height, Weight & Measurements

At 92 years old, Willie Ruff height not available right now. We will update Willie Ruff's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
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Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

Family
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Willie Ruff Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Willie Ruff worth at the age of 92 years old? Willie Ruff’s income source is mostly from being a successful musician. He is from United States. We have estimated Willie Ruff's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income musician

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Timeline

1931

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.

Willie Henry Ruff Jr. was born in Sheffield, Alabama on September 1, 1931.

1947

Mitchell and Ruff first met in 1947, when they were teenaged servicemen stationed at the former Lockbourne Air Force Base in Ohio; Mitchell recruited Ruff to play bass with his unit band for an Air Force radio program.

1953

He attended the Yale School of Music as an undergraduate (Bachelor of Music, 1953) and graduate student (Master of Music, 1954).

Ruff died in Killen, Alabama on December 24, 2023, at the age of 92.

Ruff played in the Mitchell-Ruff Duo with pianist Dwike Mitchell for over 50 years.

1955

Mitchell and Ruff later played in Lionel Hampton's band but left in 1955 to form their own group.

Together as the Mitchell-Ruff Duo, they played as "second act" to artists such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie.

From 1955 to 2011, the duo regularly performed and lectured in the United States, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

1959

The Mitchell-Ruff Duo was the first jazz band to play in the Soviet Union (1959) and in China (1981).

1967

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.

During those sessions, he and Cohen laid down the bed tracks for most of the songs on the album.

Ruff was one of the founders of the W. C. Handy Music Festival in Florence, Alabama.

1971

Ruff was a faculty member at the Yale School of Music from 1971 until his retirement in 2017, teaching music history, ethnomusicology, and arranging.

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.

The duo could play in the style of most notable jazz artists and related styles.

They had a large repertoire.

Ruff was founding Director of the Duke Ellington Fellowship Program at Yale, a community-based organization sponsoring artists mentoring and performing with Yale students and young musicians from the New Haven Public School System.

1972

The program was founded in 1972 as a "Conservatory Without Walls" to "'capture the essence and spirit' of the tradition of African-American music".

1976

From 1976 to 1977, he held a visiting appointment at Duke University, where he oversaw the jazz program and directed the Duke Jazz Ensemble.

Ruff was also on the faculty at UCLA and Dartmouth.

1982

The first festival was first held in 1982.

1992

In 1992, Ruff published his memoir, titled A Call to Assembly: The Autobiography of a Musical Storyteller.

The autobiography was hailed as "an unmitigated delight" and was awarded the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.

With Clifford Coulter

With Miles Davis

With Gil Evans

With Benny Golson

1994

Ruff was a 1994 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.

2000

In 2000, he received the Connecticut Governor's Arts Award for his work with the Duke Ellington Fellowship Program.

2002

By its 30th anniversary in 2002, the program had reached an estimated 180,000 students in New Haven schools.

2013

Mitchell died in 2013.

In May 2013, he was awarded the Sanford Medal.

The Sanford Medal is the highest honor from Yale University's School of Music.

Ruff was known for uncovering links between traditional black gospel music and unaccompanied psalm singing.

Ruff's theory was that the Scottish Presbyterian practice of lining out – in which a precentor read or chanted a line of the psalm, which was then sung by the congregation – led to the call and response form of black gospel music.

Ruff co-created the documentary "A Conjoining of Ancient Song", which focuses on a rapidly vanishing form of congregational singing that is shared by Scottish, African American, and Native American music.

It received its world premiere screening at Yale in 2013.

2014

Ruff's work in this area was also a subject of Sterlin Harjo's 2014 documentary film, This May Be the Last Time.

Ruff wrote about classical composer Paul Hindemith, who was one of his teachers at Yale, and about his professional experiences with jazz composers Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.