George Russell (1923-2009)

[clifford_thornton]

I'm hearing word that George Russell, pianist and composer, has died.

This is the only "printed" source I have seen though there is banter elsewhere about this.

Hope it ain't so but if it is, Rest in Peace, Mr. Russell, and thanks for all you gave.

[sidewinder]

Let's hope it aint so but if it is, RIP for another of the true greats. He was one of the last surviving links to that early pioneering generation of modernists.

Glad I got to see his 'Living Time' Orchestra at least.

[king ubu]

Can't find anything else on the web, but this would be very sad - will spin some music of his today, that's for sure!

[B. Goren.]

Can't find anything else on the web.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...7hejuQD99N96P82

RIP Mr. Russell.

[Free For All]

I've just been listening to some GR- I've been a fan of his music for a long time. One favorite is his composition All About Rosie (recorded by the Gerry Mulligan CJB).

Anyone spend any time with his Lydian Chromatic Concept materials? I would love to have taken a music theory course from him.

Very sorry to hear he passed. What great music he left for us to enjoy! RIP

[JohnS]

Very sad news. A jazz great. His from the 40s onwards was exceptional. His best work for me is his mid-50s playing, arranging and composing through to the Riverside Sextets. Truly exceptional, exciting and essential.

[JSngry]

So it's official...damn...

What a mind...and what ears to go with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40jXuSmusXc

[bertrand]

A true original - nothing else sounds like George Russell's music, and that's what makes him so great. He leaves a great void.

Great clip - who are the others?

Bertrand.

[king ubu]

AP has the news now:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...7hejuQD99NBNU81

Jazz composer George Russell dies at 86

(AP) – 18 minutes ago

BOSTON — Jazz composer George Russell, a MacArthur fellow whose theories influenced the modal music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, has died.

His publicist says Russell, who taught at the New England Conservatory, died Monday in Boston at age 86 of complications from Alzheimer's.

Russell was born in Cincinnati in 1923 and attended Wilberforce University. He played drums in Benny Parker's band and later wrote "Cubano Be/Cubano Bop" for Dizzy Gillespie's orchestra. It premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1947 and was the first fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz.

Russell developed the Lydian concept in 1953. It's credited as the first theoretical contribution from jazz.

Russell is survived by his wife, his son and three grandchildren. A release says a memorial service will be planned.

[brownie]

A true original - nothing else sounds like George Russell's music, and that's what makes him so great. He leaves a great void.

Great clip - who are the others?

Bertrand.

The video is taken from the Sextet European 1964 tour. George Russell sextet at the time was Thad Jones on trumpet, Garnett Brown on trombone, Joe Farrell on sax, Barre Philips on bass and Tootie Heath on drums

Edited July 28, 2009 by brownie

[Van Basten II]

RIP, thanks for the great music.

[Lazaro Vega]

This came across from Charlie Kohlhase:

Sent: Mon, Jul 27, 2009 11:19 pm

Subject: Composer, Theoretician, Pianist George Russell Passes

From:  Sue Auclair, 617-522-1394

jazzwoman@earthlink.net

For Immediate Release:

COMPOSER, THEORETICIAN, PIANIST GEORGE RUSSELL PASSES

Composer, theoretician, pianist George Russell passed away this evening, July 27, 2009 at approximately 9:10 pm from complications due to Alzheimer’s.  He leaves his wife Alice Russell, his son Jock Millgardh and three grandchildren, Maya, Kalle and Max.  

There will be no funeral, but a memorial service will be planned in the future.

Bio information:

George Russell was a hugely influential, innovative figure in the

evolution of modern jazz, the music's only major theorist, one of its

most profound composers, and a trail blazer whose ideas have

transformed and inspired some of the greatest musicians of our time.

Russell was born in Cincinnati in 1923, the adopted son of a registered

nurse and a chef on the B&O Railroad. He began playing drums with

the Boy Scout Drum and Bugle Corps and eventually received a

scholarship to Wilberforce University where he joined the Collegians,

whose list of alumni include Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Fletcher

Henderson, Ben Webster, Cootie Williams, Ernie Wilkins and Frank

Foster. But his most valuable musical education came in 1941, when, in

attempting to enlist in the Marines, he was diagnosed with

tuberculosis, spending 6 months in the hospital where he was taught the

fundamentals of harmony from a fellow patient. From the hospital he

sold his first work, "New World," to Benny Carter. He joined Benny

Carter's Band, but was replaced by Max Roach; after Russell heard

Roach, he decided to give up drumming. He moved to New York where he

was part of a group of musicians who gathered in the basement apartment

of Gil Evans. The circle included Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Max

Roach, Johnny Carisi and on occasion, Charlie Parker. He was

commissioned to write a piece for Dizzy Gillespie's orchestra; the

result was the seminal "Cubano Be/Cubano Bop" the first fusion of

Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz, premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1947 and

featuring Chano Pozo. Two years later his "Bird in Igor's Yard" was

recorded by Buddy DeFranco, a piece notable for its fusion of elements

from Charlie Parker and Stravinsky.

It was a remark made by Miles Davis when George asked him his musical

aim which set Russell on the course which has been his life. Miles said

he "wanted to learn all the changes." Since Miles obviously knew all

the changes, Russell surmised that what he meant=2

0was he wanted to learn a new way to relate to chords. This began a quest for Russell, and

again hospitalized for 16 months, he began to develop his "Lydian

Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization." First published in 1953, the

Lydian Concept is credited with opening the way into modal music, as

demonstrated by Miles in his seminal "Kind of Blue" recording. Using

the Lydian Scale as the PRIMARY SCALE of Western music, the Lydian

Chromatic Concept introduced the idea of chord/scale unity. It was the

first theory to explore the vertical relationship between chords and

scales, and was the only original theory to come from jazz. Throughout

the 1950's and 60's, Russell continued to work on developing the

Concept and leading bands under his direction. In the mid-fifties, a

superb sextet, including Bill Evans and Art Farmer recorded under his

direction, producing "The Jazz Workshop," an album of astonishing

originality; the often dense textures and rhythms anticipated the

jazz-rock movement of the 1970's. During this time, he was also

working odd jobs as a counterman in a lunch spot and selling toys at

Macy's at Christmas; the release of “The Jazz Workshop” put an end to

Russell’s jobs outside of music. He was one of a group to be

commissioned to write for the first annual Brandeis Jazz Festival in

1957--"All About Rosie" was based on an Alabama children's song. "New

York, New York," with poetry by Jon Hendricks and featuring Bill Evans,

Max Roach, John Coltrane, Milt Hinton, Bob Brookmeyer, Art Farmer and a

Who's Who of the New York jazz scene is striking in it evocation of the

New York of the late fifties. From 1960, Russell began leading his own

sextets around the New York area and at festivals; he also toured

throughout the Midwest and Europe with his sextet. One of the important

albums of this time was "Ezz-Thetic," which featured Eric Dolphy, Don

Ellis and Steve Swallow.

Disillusioned by his lack of recognition and the meager work

opportunities in America, he arrived in a wheel chair in Scandinavia in

1964, but returned five years later in spiritual health. In Sweden and

Norway he found support for both himself and his music. All his works

were recorded by radio and TV, and he was championed by Bosse Broberg,

the adventurous Director of Swedish Radio, an organization with which

Russell maintains a close association and admiration. While there, he

heard and recorded a young Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, and Jon

Christensen.

In 1969, he returned to the States at the request of his old friend,

Gunther Schuller to teach at the newly created Jazz Department at the

New England Conservatory where Schuller was President. He continued to

develop the Lydian Concept and toured with his own groups. He played

Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, the Bottom Line, Newport,

Wolftrap, The Smithsonian, Sweet Basil, the West Coast, the Southwest,

and Europe with his 14 member orchestra. He continued to compose

extended works which defined jazz composition. His 1985 recording, "The

African Game,"one of the first in the revived Blue Note label, received

2 Grammy nominations. Russell has taught throughout the world, and has

been guest conductor for Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, German

and Italian radio.

In 1986, he was invited by the Contemporary Music Network of the

British Council to tour with an orchestra of American and British

musicians, which resulted in The International Living Time Orchestra,

which has been touring and performing since that time. Among the

soloists of stature are Stanton Davis, Dave Bargeron, Brad Hatfield,

Steve Lodder, Tiger Okoshi, and Andy Sheppard. The musicians have

developed a rare understanding of the music, astonishing audiences with

fiery music both complex and challenging, but added to the dynamism and

electric power of funk and rock. Russell himself is a tremendously

visual leader, dancing and forming architectural structures with his

hands.

The Living Time Orchestra has toured all over the world. Most recent

projects included a performance at the Barbican Centre in London and

the Cite de la Musique in Paris, augmented with string players from the

U.K. and France, the Theatre Champs-Elyse¥es for the Festival D'automne

in Paris, the Glasgow International Festival, Queen20Elizabeth Hall,

Tokyo Music Joy, the Library of Congress, Festivals of Umbria, Verona,

Lisbon, Milano, Pori, Bath, Huddersfield, Ravenna, Catania, North Sea,

and many more.

Russell has received the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the National

Endowment for the Arts American Jazz Master, been elected a Foreign

Member of the Royal Swedish Academy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, the

Oscar du Disque de Jazz, the Guardian Award, six NEA Music Fellowships,

the American Music Award, and numerous others.

[J.A.W.]

Very sad news (again...)

[clifford_thornton]

I remember buying an original copy of the Stratus Seekers at a record fair when I was barely out of my teens. The guy selling it - for $10 - said "people still listen to George Russell?" I think my response was something like "I don't know, but I want to hear him!" It's been discovery after discovery with his music since; I've only recently begun to appreciate his more rock-oriented pieces, choral work and the other compositional/textural adventures he was engaged in later on.

I had the chance to interview him a few years ago for AAJ but it fell through on account of bad timing. Wish I had done so.

[jeffcrom]

Discovering the Ezz-thetics album with Dolphy was one of those life-changing experiences for me - I listened to that one over and over. The original version of "All About Rosie," from the Brandeis Festival Modern Jazz Concert album, is amazing - maybe Russell's masterpiece. And I still remember how excited I was to find the original Swedish issue of The Essence of George Russell, with the first, big-band version of "Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved By Nature." Incredible stuff. I loved how he championed other composers, too - Dave Baker had a tune on many of the Sextet's albums, and I love those odd early Carla Bley pieces Russell recorded, like "Rhymes" and "Dance Class."

So long, Mr. Russell.

Edited July 28, 2009 by jeffcrom

[WorldB3]

Bummer, a true original and great artist. Every time I go back to his old stuff it still sounds fresh.

[stevebop]

A decade ago George was presented a "Jazz Achievement Award" by

The New England Foundation for The Arts. As a part of that award,

I got to co-produce a half hour radio documentary about him.

It's all George, talking about his life and career in music and samples

of the music he is talking about.

A fascinating first person account of a brilliant career.

The program is available on the WGBH website. Simply go to:

www.wgbh.org/jazz

Look for the photo of Yusef Lateef (another recipient of that same Award).

Scroll down until you see George's picture.

Enjoy listening.

Thank you George!

[BeBop]

Somehow, it was only in the past five or six years that I came to appreciate his "classic" work. But I have the rest of my listening days to continue to enjoy what he's left us. Thanks and rest peacably.

[Guest Bill Barton]

This news was like punch to the gut when I went online a few minutes ago.

Very sad news indeed.

R.I.P., George Russell.

He was such a brilliant musician, composer, writer, theorist, teacher and mentor that it's difficult to fully assess his influence. Suffice it to say, that influence was profound. A true Master, an Elder...

I'll never forget the first time I heard Dolphy's incredible solo on "'Round Midnight" with Russell. It's one of those recordings that truly opened my ears to the potential of this great music. And the first time I heard the original recording of Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved By Nature just about fried my brain. Incredibly potent music.

Timeless and beyond category.

My sincere condolences to his family, friends and many colleagues

[paul secor]

Ezz-thetics was one of the first avant-garde/new music/whatever label people put on it records I ever heard. Bought it along with Ornette's Ornette! record in 1964. I still listen to both, and those records introduced me to music and sounds I'd never heard before.

Thanks and R.I.P., Mr. Russell.

[B. Clugston]

RIP.

At the Five Spot is my favourite George Russell album.

[kh1958]

Jazz Workshop on RCA is my favorite; a great record.

[clifford_thornton]

Love all the ones I own.

[Teasing the Korean]

When I was 16, circa 1980, my Dad took me to see George Russell and Max Roach live. It was at the University of South Florida in Tampa. George conducted the jazz department's jazz orchestra and Max played drums, both with the orchestra and also for some small group and solo pieces, IIRC. While I of course knew jazz from records and radio, this was the first "real" jazz concert I ever attended. The adventurousness of GR's arrangements and the incredibly melodic nature of Max's drumming truly made an impression.

At the time, the community radio station WMNF played a lot of jazz in the evenings between 7 and 11. From the perspective of a teen, the station was a true oasis for experiencing "real" jazz, as opposed to the fusion stuff that was so prevalent at the time (I'm not necessarily knocking fusion, it's just that a lot of it was bad by then).

This coincided with a period where I had a little bit of spending money from my busboy gig, and lucky for me a lot of classic Blue Note and Impulse albums were showing up in the Peaches cutout bin for very little money.

All of this together, at an impressionable age, sent me off on a long and rewarding path, which has now resulted in my need for extra shelving in my packed-to-the-gills record room (see the vinyl forum).

Over the years, I've accumulated a decent amount of George Russell's stuff from between, say, the late 40s and late 60s. Really love all this stuff, always discover something new, and I always remember that concert that my Dad and I went to.

I'm also a certified exotica freak, as you know, and the early George Russell track "Fellow Delegates" shows up on my "Buried Treasures" compilation series of exotica one-offs buried on non-exotica albums.

Thanks George, RIP.

Edited July 28, 2009 by Teasing the Korean

[Chuck Nessa]

Nice personal post TTK. Thanks.

No time to elaborate but I have fond memories of sitting at a table in a ballroom of the Blackstone Hotel (Chicago) with George Russell and Abdullah Buhaina as they swapped "poverty" stories of their youth. It was an elevated version of "the dozens".