Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 1,064
By This is the grave of Jerome Rusch.
Born in 1943, Rusch attended the University of Minnesota, where he became a very good trumpet player. He finished at UM in 1964 and then went into the Army Reserve. But what he was really doing is perfecting his instrument. In 1966, he moved to Los Angeles and almost immediately found success. He wrote a song called “Like They Say in L.A.” that was a top 10 pop single. He was really a sideman, not a leader. But he played with everyone. The big band leader Gerald Wilson gave him his first big break in 1967. He could do more than that though and Ray Charles hired him for awhile in 1972 and 1973, demonstrating the kind of versatility he provided with his horn. Among the other people he worked with at one point or another include Joe Henderson, Stan Kenton, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, The Temptations, and The Rolling Stones. So he knew the right people and the right people knew who to call for some trumpet.
Among the albums that Rusch appeared on are Jean-Luc Ponty’s 1969 release Electric Connection, Blue Mitchell’s 1974 album Booty, Richard Holmes’ 1969 album Workin’ on a Groovy Thing, and Benny Powell’s 1979 album Ya Betcha B.P.!! Rusch did release four albums of his own between 1979 and 2010, but I haven’t heard any of them. Like lots of jazz musicians, he found it easier to make a living in Europe, so he moved there in the 1980s and played with the Joe Haider Jazz Orchestra, among many other bands.
Rusch died of liver cancer in 2003. He was 59 years old.
Jerome Rusch is buried in Calvary Cemetery, St. Paul, Minnesota.
If you would like this series to visit other sidemen, a long and revered history of amazing musicians how might not be well-known names but who were great talents that provided the necessary backing for the albums that make up the history of American popular music, you can donate to cover the required expenses here. Just focusing on people who played with Ray Charles, the saxophonist Leroy Cooper is in Bushnell, Florida and the trombonist Keg Johnson is in Ferris, Texas. Previous posts in this series are archived here.