Kermit Ruffins
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It takes all of 30 seconds. Whether listening to a track on his newest CD, engaging
him in conversation or hearing his voice on an answering machine message, one
word springs immediately to mind to describe Kermit Ruffins. Passion. The 44-year-old New Orleans native lives it, plays it and
sings about it, and nowhere is it more evident than when he discusses his
craft the swinging, good-time jazz that
lured him in as a teenager and continues to whet his appetite even three
decades and 10 solo recordings later. "You definitely pick that up from me. Thats
definitely the way I live, man," he said. "From the time I wake up in
the morning, Im itching for my next show to happen. It cant get here fast
enough for me. I think thats the basic ingredient of New Orleans music. Our
traditional music. Its really just happy music. A lot of other jazz players are
very technical and concentrating on studying hard. "We study hard, too, but what we most want to do is
just get up there and experiment with the tunes that weve been playing for
years and years." At this point in his career, in fact, having fun at work
is a prerequisite.
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