''Hal on Earth'' is an album by American avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell recorded in 1989 which was originally released on cassette and released on CD on the Abduction label in 1995.Abduction Records discography
accessed May 6, 2014

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review awarded the album 4 stars stating "the band was at a peak during this time, and this album showcases everything that made it such a singular group. From the inspired, one-upping interplay between Russell and fellow saxophonist Mars Williams to the manic pacing and daffy sense of humor (often evident in Russell's screwball theme melodies), this album makes it clear that the group was truly enjoying itself as it played".Allmusic Review
accessed May 5, 2014

Track listing

''All compositions by Hal Russell except as indicated'' # "Raining Violets" (Brian Sandstrom) - 4:25 # "Autumn Squeeze" (Kent Kessler) - 5:14 # "Calling All Mothers" - 2:39 # "Ode to Monica Chavez" - 2:56 # "Monica's Having a Baby" - 4:43 # "Stay Cinderella" - 3:40 # "Dance of the Spider People" (Mars Williams) - 4:26 # "Hal on Earth" (Steve Hunt) - 8:56 # "Lunceford" - 4:12 # "Hal the Weenie" - 7:29 # "Temporarily" (Hunt) - 8:58

Personnel

* Hal Russell -

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, soprano saxophone,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

Mars Williams Mars Williams (born May 29, 1955) is an American jazz and rock saxophonist. Exposed to big band and dixieland jazz by his trumpet-playing father, Williams played classical clarinet for ten years, then migrated to saxophone in his last year of hi ...

- tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, didgeridoo *Brian Sandstrom - bass, trumpet,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

Kent Kessler Kent Kessler (born January 28, 1957) is an American jazz double-bassist. Career Although born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Kessler grew up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He began playing trombone at age ten. When he was thirteen, he moved with his f ...

- bass,

kalimba Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...

, didgeridoo *Steve Hunt -- drums, vibraphone, didgeridoo

References

{{Authority control Hal Russell albums NRG Ensemble albums 1995 albums