Legacy! - RUBY RUSHTON

Ruby Rushton’s fifth studio album Legacy! written by band leader Tenderlonious and keys player Aidan Shepherd, marks a new chapter for the hugely influential UK jazz group. In the past the band - which also includes trumpeter Nick Walters and drummer Tim Carnegie - worked with a “one take” live approach; avoiding the use of overdubs. For Legacy! the four musicians decided to combine their virtuosic abilities with Tenderlonious’ studio production skills. Each of the compositions sees layers of horn and flute lines added to the melodies on top of the original live takes. The result is impressive; the listener is left with a wider sonic spectrum than previously heard on Ruby Rushton albums.

Legacy! was recorded across four days in early 2025 at Rimshot Studios in Kent. Four days of joy, lived out in classic Ruby fashion; laughter and jokes at the heart of everything. You don’t reach your fifth album if it’s not fun. It was completely natural; a band of brothers doing what they do best. Those frosty, crisp January days found the quartet in stronger form than ever before. The band at the peak of their powers; a tight-knit group of companions and musicians, expressing themselves free of inhibitions.

Fourteen years after recording Two for Joy, this is a band still evolving. Trademark catchy riffs and heady grooves are still there but now heightened by a level of maturity and a sense of belonging. This is, and will always be, their Legacy!