Trombone for Lovers

In a review for PopMatters, Brent Faulkner wrote: "Track after track, Rudd's musicianship and sharpness impresses, making Trombone for Lovers shine radiantly."^[3]

David Whiteis of Jazz Times stated: "Rudd's timbral and emotional range is as diverse as ever, and his gnarled imprecations keep pop ballads... and novelty-tinged offerings... from getting too cute."^[4]

Writing for Latin Jazz Net, Raul Da Gama described the album as "a look at timeless standards, by which he has made them timeless again, re-creating them completely with all their ageless beauty, making them ripple through the flesh and the bone; through body and soul, touching the very nerve endings of the body with notes that are charged with emotion in every muted growl and angular human smear."^[5]

Tom Hull commented: "With the 'Joe Hill' suite at the end, this could have been called Trombone for the Masses: I don't mind the rapper there but the NYC Labor Choir takes some getting used to even though I feel like saluting the political point. Everything else is just superb."^[6]

Jeff Simon of The Buffalo News remarked: "Here is one of the goofiest jazz discs you'll encounter in a while. All of Rudd's muting – with plungers and otherwise – can't disguise the cognitive dissonance of his use of the trombone as yearning instrument of love."^[7]

1. "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (Stan Jones) – 3:10
2. "Here, There and Everywhere" (Lennon–McCartney) – 3:33
3. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (Frank Loesser) – 2:46
4. "Trouble in Mind" (Richard M. Jones) – 5:15
5. "Struttin' with Some Barbecue" (Don Raye, Lil Hardin Armstrong) – 2:11
6. "Sleep Walk" (Santo & Johnny) – 3:01
7. "Autumn Leaves" (Joseph Kosma) – 3:37
8. "Green Onions" (Al Jackson Jr., Booker T. Jones, Lewie Steinberg, Steve Cropper) – 5:27
9. "Tennessee Waltz" (Redd Stewart, Pee Wee King) – 3:57
10. "Come Sunday" (Duke Ellington) – 4:49
11. "Unchained Melody" (Alex North, Hy Zaret) – 4:30
12. "September Song" (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) – 3:26
13. "Funky Little Sweet Thing - Slow Dance for Fast Times" (Verna Gillis) – 4:00

"Joe Hill" (Alfred Hayes, Earl Robinson): four versions:

14. "Joe Hill: Trombone Solo with Piano Accompaniment" – 3:31
15. "Joe Hill: NYC Labor Chorus and Soloists" – 1:46
16. "Joe Hill: The Relentless Walk" – 3:53
17. "Joe Hill: Joe Hill Will Never Die" – 0:34

• Roswell Rudd – trombone
• John Medeski – organ
• Richard Hammond – bass
• Aaron Comess – drums
• Steven Bernstein – slide trumpet (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 8)
• Bob Dorough – vocals (track 2)
• Fay Victor – vocals (track 4)
• Rolf Sturm – guitar (tracks 7, 9, 12)
• Michael Doucet – violin (tracks 7, 9, 12)
• Gary Lucas – guitar (track 8)
• Heather Masse – vocals (track 13)
• Matthew Finck – guitar (track 13)
• Ira Coleman – bass (track 13)
• T Xiques – drums (track 13)
• Dennis Nelson – piano (tracks 14, 17)
• NYC Labor Chorus – vocals (tracks 15, 17)
• Betty Ralston – vocals (track 15)
• Judy Kleinberg – vocals (track 15)
• Brent Kramer – vocals (track 15)
• Eugene Hamond – vocals (track 15)
• Susan Zugaib – vocals (track 15)
• Sara Belcher-Barnes – vocals (track 15)
• Denise Jones – vocals (track 15)
• Barbara Bailey – vocals (track 15)
• Jeff Vogel – vocals (track 15)
• Reggie Bennett – vocals (rap) (track 16)
• Jana Ballard – conductor (track 17)