While he did play the piano, George Russell is best known as a free thinking composer and arranger who changed the direction of jazz by using various “unorthodox” chordal patterns in his songs, setting the stage for the modal revolution later lead by Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. Here, you’ve got a pair of multi-disc sets that find Russell at his most creative and exciting. Both sets come with fantastically interesting booklets that include personnel listings, original liner notes, historical background and vintage pictures, so you get an eyeful as well as an earful.
The first set is 2 discs that includes “The Jazz Workshop, Modern Jazz Concert, Jazz in the Space Age and New York, NY. The Workshp includes heavy personel such as Bill Evans/p, Teddy Kotick-Milt Hinton/b, Art Farmer/tp, Paul Motian/dr and Hal McKusick/as and with clever ideas such as “Fellow Delegates” including Osie Johnson on wood drums and the leader on chromatic ones and hip yet cerebral pieces such as “Ezz-thetic.” A three part “Chromatic Universe” sounds quite sterile and foreboding, but with Evans and Paul Bley at the piano and a horn section with Ernie Royal, the sounds are thrilling and the grooves are intact. Most intriguing is the 5 part dedication to New York, with Jon Hendricks delivering some hip narration and John Coltrane sitting in on the reed section for “Manhattan” and sounding like a team player until he delivers a cooking solo over Hinton’s bass. Some hot Latin rhythms and horns abound on “Manhatta-Rico” and a take of “Autumn in New York” includes velvety reeds by Phil Woods, Al Cohn Benny Golson and McKusick . This music, considered “far out” for its time, is fresher than 75% of the stale bread we eat nowadays.
The four disc collection includes the once-rare At the Five Spot where Russell with Al Kiger/tp, Dave Baker/tb, Dave Young/ts, Chuck Israels/b and Joe Hunt/dr tear apart Coltrane’s “Moment’s Notice” and feast on Miles Davis’ “Sippin’ At Bell’s.” The same team gets together on “Stratusphunk” and Carla Bley’s “Lambskins” (one of Russell’s favorite composers), but it’s when free thinking trumpeter Don Ellis replaces Kiger on the next couple sessions that things get exciting. You’re gonna need a protective mask, as sparks fly all over the place on Miles Davis’ “Tune Up and Clifford Brown’s “Sandu.” Then, the ante gets upped once again as Eric Dolphy jumps into the party with a new team of Baker/tb, Steve Swallow/b, Joe Hunt/dr and Russell and does wonders on “’Round Midnight” and “Nardis” while Dave Baker’s “Honesty” is a tour de force. Baker, Swallow and Ellis get back together on the next session that includes forward thinking pieces like “Blues In Orbit” and “The Stratus Seekers.”
By 1962, Russell was at the peak of his creative juices and his album The Outer View displays uncanny originality and vision. He brings together Ellis, Swallow, Pete La Roca/dr, garnett Brown/tb and Paul Plummer/ts for a spooky read of “You Are My Sunshine” that debuts vocalist Sheila Jordan, while Charlie Parker’s “Au Privave” will get your head spinning. Also included are a handful of pieces of Russell at the 1964 Newport Jazz Festival with Thad Jones/ct, Brian trentham/tb, John Gilmore/ts, Steve Swallow/b and Albert Heath/dr for some exciting reads of “The Outer View,” “Stratusphunk” and “Volupte’” while Jordan another read of “Sunshine.” The fact that this music still sounds exciting without a hint of being dated serves as a challenge to today’s hipsters. Listen to the master-four discs of inspiration!
Fresh Sound Records
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