American composer and handrummer / percussionist, originally from the south side of Chicago, USA. Born on September 12, 1955. Since the 1970’s Rudolph has been developing his unique syncretic approach to hand drums in creative collaborations with many masters of cross-cultural and improvised music such as Sam Rivers, Pharaoh Sanders, L. Shankar, and Fred Anderson. He is known especially for his innovative small group and duo collaborations with Don Cherry, Jon Hassel, Wadada Leo Smith, and Omar Sosa.
In 1988 Rudolph began his association with the legendary Yusef Lateef. He has recorded 14 albums with Dr. Lateef including their large ensemble collaborations The World At Peace (1995), Beyond The Sky (2000) and In The Garden (2003), with Rudolph conducting his artist. He has performed worldwide with Dr. Lateef in ensembles ranging from their acclaimed duo concerts to appearing as guest soloist with Koln, Atlanta and Detroit symphony orchestras.
Since 1992 Rudolph has led his own performing ensemble, Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures, featuring drummer Hamid Drake, Ralph Jones and Venice based Butoh dance innovator Oguri. The group has performed in both Europe and the United States, and has released several CD’s featuring Rudolph’s compositions. In 1995 he premiered The Dreamer, an opera based on Friedrich Nietzsche's Birth Of Tragedy.
