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Listen to Bill Bruford, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!

Bill Bruford

Jazz

The next Bill Bruford concert is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at Band On The Wall in Manchester, United Kingdom. See all 1 upcoming concerts
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Top Songs By Bill Bruford

Listen to Joe Frazier by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
Joe FrazierBill Bruford
Listen to Hell's Bells by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
Hell's BellsBill Bruford
Listen to Five G by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
Five GBill Bruford
Listen to One of a Kind, Pt. 1 by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
One of a Kind, Pt. 1Bill Bruford
Listen to Beelzebub by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
BeelzebubBill Bruford
Listen to Fainting In Coils by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
Fainting In CoilsBill Bruford
Listen to Sahara of Snow, Pt. 2 by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
Sahara of Snow, Pt. 2Bill Bruford
Listen to Travels with Myself—And Someone Else by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
Travels with Myself—And Someone ElseBill Bruford
Listen to If You Can't Stand the Heat... by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
If You Can't Stand the Heat...Bill Bruford
Listen to One of a Kind, Pt. 2 by Bill Bruford, see lyrics, music video & more!
One of a Kind, Pt. 2Bill Bruford

Upcoming Concerts for Bill Bruford

  • Oct
    15
    Oct 15, 2025
    Band On The Wall
    Manchester

More albums from Bill Bruford

Listen to In Two Minds by Michiel Borstlap & Bill Bruford
ALBUMIn Two MindsMichiel Borstlap & Bill Bruford
Listen to Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song by Bill Bruford & Michiel Borstlap
ALBUMEvery Step a Dance, Every Word a SongBill Bruford & Michiel Borstlap
Listen to If Summer Had Its Ghosts by Bill Bruford
ALBUMIf Summer Had Its GhostsBill Bruford
Listen to Flags by Patrick Moraz & Bill Bruford
ALBUMFlagsPatrick Moraz & Bill Bruford
Listen to Music for Piano and Drums by Patrick Moraz & Bill Bruford
ALBUMMusic for Piano and DrumsPatrick Moraz & Bill Bruford

About Bill Bruford

Listen to Bill Bruford, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Hometown
Sevenoaks, Kent, England
Born
May 17, 1949
Genre
Jazz
Bill Bruford's career is like his drumming sound -- inimitable. Known for his ringing metal snare drum, crisp cymbal work, and knack for complex time signatures, a young Bruford came to prominence in the late '60s with Yes. The drummer completed his British art rock trilogy by briefly joining Genesis in the 1970s and spending a quarter-century with King Crimson through the late '90s. In between King Crimson dates, Bruford led a dazzling self-titled jazz fusion solo band from 1978 to 1980. Featuring guitarist Allan Holdsworth (replaced after two albums by "the unknown" John Clark), bassist Jeff Berlin, and keyboardist Dave Stewart, the group issued four albums: Feels Good to Me (1978), One of a Kind (1979), The Bruford Tapes (1980), and Gradually Going Tornado (1980). And even as he led his visionary jazz band Bill Bruford's Earthworks, he maintained a career as a session drummer (with artists like guitarists Al DiMeola and David Torn, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and keyboardist Patrick Moraz). During one of King Crimson leader Robert Fripp's several lineup-shifting hiatuses in Bruford's 1972-1997 tenure, the drummer formed his self-titled Earthworks band in 1986. On the group's 1987 Earthworks debut album, Bruford often used electric Simmons drums to contrast acoustic horn players Iain Ballamy and Django Bates and upright bassist Mick Hutton, achieving the opposite of the standard lineup where drums are the only acoustic instrument. Subsequent releases like 1989's Dig? and 1991's All Heaven Broke Loose continued this forward-thinking trend, blending acoustic and electric instrumentation and jazz ideology with classical undertones. But by 1993's live Stamping Ground, Bruford had replaced Hutton with electric/acoustic bassist Tim Harries and was using keyboard-pitched electric chordal drums, the combined result being a more muscular and fuller sound. Bruford continued recording and touring with King Crimson through 1997, releasing the Earthworks compilation Heavenly Bodies just as he quit the venerable rock band with which he'd had his longest tenure. It would prove to be a transitional year, as Bruford recorded a jazz chamber trio solo CD called If Summer Had Its Ghosts with legendary jazz figures Ralph Towner (guitar/piano) and Eddie Gomez (acoustic bass). Between explorative electric recordings with bassist and fellow King Crimson alum Tony Levin, Bruford kept Earthworks closer to the chamber jazz mode on the 1999 CD A Part, and Yet Apart. Likewise, the lineup of Bruford, saxophonist Patrick Clahar, pianist Steve Hamilton, and bassist Mark Hodgson started the new millennium with the 2001 CD The Sound of Surprise, an outstanding blend of jazz tradition and forward-thinking transition. This lineup was also responsible for the 2002 live album Footloose and Fancy Free and Footloose in New York City, a live DVD released the following year. Reedman Tim Garland later replaced Clahar, and the band went on to release the live album Random Acts of Happiness in 2004. Recorded at New York City's Iridium jazz club, 2006's Earthworks Underground Orchestra was not an album by the Earthworks band per se, but rather an exploration of Earthworks repertoire performed by Bruford along with Garland and a New York version of the latter's Underground Orchestra (and including appearances by trombonist Robin Eubanks on two tracks). During Earthworks' last several years, the group underwent additional personnel changes and toured in the U.K., Europe, and Asia, and also appeared in New York City. Earthworks' final show took place in the summer of 2008 at Ronnie Scott's in London, and at the start of the following year Bruford announced a formal end to the group -- as well as his own retirement from public performances. ~ Bill Meredith & Dave Lynch

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Bill Bruford has also released music as a member of National Health, Yes, Gordian Knot, U.K., Bill Bruford's Earthworks, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Absolute Elsewhere, King Crimson, Gong, and Bruford.