Meet Ruth Price | Founding Artistic Director at The Jazz Bakery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ruth Price and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Music was always a part of my life, but at first, it had nothing to do with jazz. I was in ballet class from the time I was a little girl of five. After a while, it became apparent that I had a natural talent for dancing. I loved all the ballet music and remember skipping to school singing “Peter and the Wolf.”

I was a late jazz bloomer. I really didn’t even hear jazz music until I was seventeen or eighteen years old. You see, there was no jazz radio station where I lived in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. However, the genesis of my love for music was rooted deeply in that community. For example, I was in the local church choir where the Rev. Woods encouraged me to pursue my God-given gift. I also remember very clearly that there was an area of town called “The Hill,” where a few African American families lived. You see, my mother used to go there to visit a girlfriend. I remember one summer evening, sitting out front on the steps with five or six kids my age, singing songs and dancing. I don’t remember what we were singing, but I remember them saying, “You can sing!” Their words stayed with me and planted the seeds that would eventually grow into a long career in jazz music.

When I was a bit older, I began to work as a dancer on the circuit. I was working at a club in Philadelphia one night and the house band was the Miles Davis’ rhythm section, featuring Philly Joe Jones. I don’t know what came over me, but when the trio was playing dance music, I asked if I could sing a tune. After hearing me sing, Philly Joe started teaching me songs. At the time, Philly Joe also worked at “the” club called the Blue Note. On nights when the star was “unavoidably detained,” they would have me sing as the “stand in”. It was just this incredible gift that was given to me and I was good at it.

I started singing in clubs in towns like Detroit, Indianapolis, and Cleveland. They all had at least one great club and one great rhythm section. So, I got to work with so many wonderful musicians and, if nothing else, I learned to be really flexible. It took my parents and dancing teachers several albums and several appearances on The Tonight Show before they realized I was actually a singer.

It wasn’t always easy to be a woman singer in those days. I remember one time I had done a sold-out concert with Stan Getz at the Santa Monica Civic. After the show, everyone congratulated me except Stan. When I went to pick up my pay he said, ” I’m not paying you.” I was stunned and said, “But, but, but…” and he said, “Who’s gonna make me?” Because I wasn’t there with a guy, he felt he could take advantage of me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Still reeling from the pandemic, I miss the artists and their music. I miss human contact. I am mostly excited to gather together local artists. For now, I want to invite them over to my house and talk with them about their music, maybe even hear some of their music as well. I long for this kind of interaction with musicians and want to start slowly dipping my toe back into that world.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I ended up doing many more tours and recording seven solo albums from 1955-2014. However, I consider my greatest accomplishment the conceiving and founding of the Jazz Bakery Performance Space. The Jazz Bakery has achieved international acclaim through my vision. Many great musicians have played there over the years. On Sunday afternoons a few of them set aside time from their schedules to play for children. Composer Yusef Lateef, Herbie Hancock, Don Cherry, and Kevin Eubanks are some who were involved. I am also proud of my involvement with the California Jazz Foundation which aids musicians who are in financial distress. In fact, I was presented with the first annual Nica award for outstanding contributions to the well-being of jazz artists.

Website: https://www.jazzbakery.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_jazz_bakery/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jazz-bakery/about/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheJazzBakery

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejazzbakery

Image Credits
jazz photography by Bob Barry