|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||
Unique among NEA Jazz Masters recipients in that he is first and foremost a composer rather than an instrumentalist, George Russell is one of the most important jazz theorists of the latter half of the 20th century. He first expressed himself musically on the drums in the drum and bugle corps. After high school, Russell attended Wilberforce University, where he found gigs playing drums at local clubs. Russell's study of composing and arranging increased while he was bedridden with a case of tuberculosis at 19. It was during this time that he began formulating his unprecedented musical theorems. While his first arrangements were for the A.B Townsend Orchestra, a Cincinnati dance band, Russell's initial major band affiliation was as a drummer with Benny Carter. Later he found work arranging with the Earl Hines band. His first major score was "Cubana Be, Cubana Bop," an Afro-Cuban piece written for the Dizzy Gillespie big band. Russell followed that with charts for Lee Konitz ("Ezz-thetic" and "Odjenar") and Buddy DeFranco ("A Bird in Igor's Yard"). He continued his advanced composition study with Stefan Wolpe. His theory, The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, was eventually published in book form in the mid-1950s. Russell's concept involves a composition system based on the grading of intervals by the distance of their pitches from a central note. Music theoreticians hailed this as a breakthrough, being perhaps the first major contribution by a jazz musician to the field of musical theory. Russell's continued refinement and study of this concept eventually led him to academia when he taught at the Lenox School of Jazz during 1958-59. In the meantime, his theories on modals influenced Miles Davis and Bill Evans (who studied with Russell), leading to the creation of Davis' masterpiece, Kind of Blue. In the early 1960s, Russell led several small groups, which included musicians such as Eric Dolphy and David Baker, and made some significant recordings before moving to Scandinavia. There he continued to refine his theories and work with Scandinavian musicians, returning to the U.S. in 1969. That year he took a teaching position at New England Conservatory of Music. In the late 1970s, Russell formed big bands to play his music, creating his Living Time Orchestra in 1978. In addition to teaching and lecturing at other conservatories and universities, Russell has been the recipient of numerous awards, honors, and grants, including a MacArthur award, two Guggenheim fellowships, and the National Music Award. Though his recording and concert opportunities in the U.S. have been sporadic, George Russell has continued to refine his Lydian theories.
Selected Discography
|
||||||||
