projects

projects=groups with which josh performs/performed.
for booking or more information, please email josh at
josh at joshrutner dot com

updated 1.17.08


CURRENT PROJECTS

THE RESPECT SEXTET
josh:reeds, radio, melodica, toys|eli asher:trumpet, toys|
james hirschfeld:trombone, toys|red wierenga:piano, accordion, melodica|malcolm kirby:bass|ted poor:drums, palm pilot


This is a band that's given me some of the best listening experiences I've had over the last couple of years.
Robert Iannapollo, Cadence Magazine/Opprobrium

They have great chops and a great sense of humour, and they seem to play just about everything.
Nate Dorward, Cadence Magazine

The Respect Sextet brings the swagger of a retro-swing band to music that ranges from free-bop to freak-out jazz...a band on the rise.
David Dupont, One Final Note

[Respect] challenges and instigates. It delightfully confounds. This is world-class American jazz at its finest and freest. It's pure truth. Respect the truth.
Frank De Blase, City Newspaper

Nothing is good, I see, without Respect. Methinks it sounds much sweeter than by day!
William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice



Formed in 2001, The Respect Sextet is a powerhouse ensemble dedicated to performing a wide variety of improvisational musics. Relying on their explosive energy, rare telepathy, outstanding musicianship, and a deep friendship, Respect pieces together free improvisations, original compositions, free jazz classics, television commercial jingles, text pieces, jazz standards, game pieces and more into “a whirling collage,” shouts Exclaim! Magazine, “that ransacks and reshapes the entire jazz tradition, from New Orleans march to Misha Mengelberg, Sun Ra to Charlie Parker.”

The group comprises Josh Rutner (reeds, radio, toys), Eli Asher (trumpet, toys), James Hirschfeld (trombone, toys), Malcolm Kirby (bass), Red Wierenga (piano, keyboard, accordion) and Ted Poor (drums). After releasing three limited-edition live CDs, (respect.), (respectacle.), and mini-CD (respookt.), Respect introduced The Full Respect, a studio mélange in which “all those outlandish musical gestures and experiments,” as critic Chad Oliveiri wrote, “are distilled into a frighteningly efficient package.” The Full Respect was named #3 Jazz CD of the Year by Jazz 90.1fm, and music from the album was featured in the short film Who's Your Daddy?, an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival, 2004.

In January, 2005, Respect released Respect In You, a free-wheeling live recording featuring guest bassist Matt Clohesy. The album received rave reviews from jazz magazines including Cadence, Paris Transatlantic, Exclaim! and Coda, and was listed in several as one of 2005’s 10 best records.

“Forget about the wan, self-conscious eclecticism that’s the bane of the current jazz scene,” wrote Nate Dorward, “this is the real deal, burning hard and bright.”

The Respect Sextet, through its eclecticism, its devotion to improvisation, its predilection towards swing, and its use of toys and “little instruments,” has drawn comparisons both to New Dutch Swing and the AACM. Many dialectics are at work (or play) in Respect's music, in which the serious, heady, and intellectual mingle with the light, comic, and absurd, where compositions alternate with improvisations, and where tight ensemble work coexists with loose, empathic interplay.

Visuals and soundclips of all past Respect recordings are available here.)

FUN FACT: The Respect Sextet doesn't like onions.

Visit the official Respect Sextet website!




ANDRE CANNIERE GROUP
andre canniere:trumpet|josh:tenor sax, clarinet|ryan ferreira:guitar|ike sturm:bass|ted poor:drums

The ACG is devoted to the bringing to life all the crazy and nigh-impossible musical ideas that Andre Canniere has floating about that head of his. We make a point of mentioning to him every rehearsal that 'perhaps things don't need to be so damned complicated' but a canniere will ever be a canniere, through and through. And who are we to argue? One of my favorite groups to play with.

FUN FACT:The Andre Canniere Group did not originally include Andre Canniere. It was only after Ted noticed that calling the group 'The Andre Canniere Group' was slightly suspicious, that we auditioned several trumpet players, and Andre won.

Visit the official Andre Canniere website!




ELECTRIC MEDECINE
james hirschfeld:trombone|ed rosenberg:tenor sax|josh:tenor sax|ben gallina:electronic bass|brady miller:drums

A reformation of Ben Gallina's Rochester creation, this time with two tenors and trombone: very exciting sounds! I gotta fever, and the only prescription is: Electric Medicine!

FUN FACT:Electric Medicine includes only one electric instrument.

Visit the official Ben Gallina website!


THE RED WIERENGA UNIT
josh:reeds|red wierenga:piano|malcolm kirby:bass|ted poor:drums

'The band started to play and our jaws dropped. These guys were incredible. Unbelievable...Their interplay was phenomenal... These musicians are absolutely wonderful and deserve to be recognized on a national - nay, international level.'
-Michael Fitzgerald, co-author of Rat Race Blues: The Musical Life of Gigi Gryce

'an excellent quartet'
-City Newspaper

A Rochester-native subset of The Respect Sextet, the Red Wierenga Unit strives toward interesting ways of playing the works of obscure composers, and swinging like monkeys. The Unit performed at WGMC's Meet-the-Artist concert in April, 2002. In addition, the group performed music of Gigi Gryce in August, 2002, as part of a booksigning by Noal Cohen and Michael Fitzgerald of their book, Rat-Race Blues: The Musical Life of Gigi Gryce. After the booksigning, Noal Cohen wrote:

'We were blown away by your original, imaginative and fascinating takes on Gigi's music. You guys obviously got into it and gave it a lot of thought. We are extrememly grateful for your contributions which really made the evening a success beyond our most optimistic expectations.'

The Red Wierenga Unit has plans to record sometime soon.

FUN FACT: The Red Wierenga Unit's favorite color is red.

Visit the official Red Wierenga website!




THE DAVE GUIDICE QUARTET
josh:saxophone, flute|dave guidice:piano, vocals|
ike sturm:bass|ted poor:drums

This guy can sing and play! I mean you've never heard piano chops like this on a vocalist, nor a voice like this on a pianist! Dave and Josh have been playing since high school and with the addition of Ike Sturm and Ted Poor, this is a very strong group! Dave's first record, Time To Start is now available.

FUN FACT: The Dave Guidice Quartet plays a mean game of Sorry.

Visit the official Dave Guidice website!