George Allen Russell (June 23, 1923 – July 27, 2009) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist, composer, arranger and theorist. He is considered one of the first jazz musicians to contribute to general music theory with a theory of harmony based on jazz rather than European music, in his book ''

Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization The ''Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization'' is a 1953 jazz music theory book written by George Russell. The book is the founding text of the Lydian Chromatic Concept (LCC), or Lydian Chromatic Theory (LCT). Russell's work postulates ...

'' (1953).

Early life

Russell was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, on June 23, 1923, to a white father and a black mother. He was adopted by a nurse and a chef on the B & O Railroad, Bessie and Joseph Russell. Young Russell sang in the choir of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

and listened to the Kentucky Riverboat music of

Fate Marable Fate Marable (December 2, 1890 – January 16, 1947) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. Early life Marable was born in Paducah, Kentucky to James and Elizabeth Lillian (Wharton) Marable, a piano teacher. Fate had five siblings, includin ...

. He made his stage debut at age seven, singing "Moon Over Miami" with Fats Waller. Surrounded by the music of the black church and the big bands which played on the Ohio Riverboats, and with a father who was a music educator at Oberlin College, he began playing drums with the Boy Scouts and Bugle Corps, receiving a scholarship to

Wilberforce University Wilberforce University is a private historically black university in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. It participates ...

, where he joined the Collegians, a band noted as a breeding ground for jazz musicians including

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

Charles Freeman Lee Charles Freeman Lee, known as Freeman Lee (August 13, 1927 – June 15, 1997) was an American jazz trumpeter, recording with the Elmo Hope Quintet, Bennie Green, Babs Gonzales and Howard McGhee. Early life and education Charles Freeman Lee was ...

, Frank Foster, and

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

. Russell served in that band at the same time as another noted jazz composer,

Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direc ...

. When called up for the draft at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was hospitalized with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

, during which he was taught the fundamentals of music theory by a fellow patient.

Early career

After his release from the hospital, he played drums with Benny Carter's band, but decided to give up drumming as a vocation after hearing

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...

, who replaced him in the orchestra. Inspired by hearing

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

's " 'Round Midnight", Russell moved to New York in the early 1940s, where he became a member of a coterie of young innovators who frequented the 55th Street apartment of

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role i ...

, a clique which included

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

, and

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, later the music director of the Modern Jazz Quartet. In 1945–46, Russell was again hospitalized for tuberculosis for 16 months. Forced to turn down work as

's drummer, during that time he worked out the basic tenets of what was to become his

, a theory encompassing all of equal-tempered music which has been influential well beyond the boundaries of jazz. During this period he also studied composition with Stefan Wolpe. The first edition of his book was published by Russell in 1953, while he worked as a salesclerk at

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

. At that time, Russell's ideas were a crucial step into the modal music of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

and

on his classic recording, '' Kind of Blue'', and served as a beacon for other modernists such as Eric Dolphy and Art Farmer. While working on the theory, Russell was also applying its principles to composition. His first famous composition was for the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, the two-part "Cubano Be, Cubano Bop" (1947) and part of that band's pioneering experiments in fusing

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

and Cuban jazz elements;Ratliff, B
George Russell, Composer Whose Theories Sent Jazz in a New Direction, Dies at 86
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', July 29, 2009 "A Bird in Igor's Yard" (a tribute to both

and Igor Stravinsky) was recorded in a session led by

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and ...

the next year. Also, a lesser known but pivotal work arranged by Russell was recorded in January 1950 by

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

entitled "Similau" that employed techniques of both the works done for Gillespie and DeFranco. Russell began playing piano, leading a series of groups which included Bill Evans, Art Farmer,

Hal McKusick Hal McKusick (June 1, 1924 – April 11, 2012) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, and flutist who worked with Boyd Raeburn from 1944 to 1945 and Claude Thornhill from 1948 to 1949. Career McKusick was born in Medford, Massachus ...

Barry Galbraith Joseph Barry Galbraith (December 18, 1919 – January 13, 1983) was an American jazz guitarist. Galbraith moved to New York City from McDonald, PA in the early 1940s and found work playing with Babe Russin, Art Tatum, Red Norvo, Hal McIntyre, an ...

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the ...

, and others. ''Jazz Workshop'' was his first album as leader, and one where he played relatively little, as opposed to masterminding the events (rather like his colleague Gil Evans). He was to record a number of impressive albums over the next several years, sometimes as primary pianist. In 1957, Russell was one of several composers commissioned by

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

to write a piece for their jazz festival. He wrote a suite for orchestra, ''All About Rosie'', which featured Bill Evans among other soloists, and has been cited as one of the few convincing examples of composed

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...

in jazz. Members of the orchestra on his 1958 extended work, '' New York, N.Y.'', included Bill Evans,

, Art Farmer,

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of G ...

, and

, among others, and featured wrap-around raps by singer/lyricist

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

. '' Jazz in the Space Age'' (1960) was an even more ambitious

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

album, featuring the unusual dual piano voicings of Bill Evans and

Paul Bley Paul Bley, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live performance on the Moog and ...

. Russell formed his own sextet in which he played piano. Between 1960 and 1963, the Russell Sextet featured musicians like Dave Baker and

Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...

and memorable sessions with Eric Dolphy (on ''

Ezz-thetics ''Ezz-thetics'' is a studio album by the George Russell sextet, released on Riverside Records in mid-1961. Recording and music The album was recorded in May 1961. In addition to himself on piano, Russell's sextet contained trumpeter Don Ellis, ...

'') and singer

Sheila Jordan Sheila Jordan (born Sheila Jeanette Dawson; November 18, 1928) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. She has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to recording her own albums. Jordan pionee ...

(their bleak version of "

You Are My Sunshine "You Are My Sunshine" is a song published by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell on January 30, 1940. According to Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the song has been recorded by over 350 artists and translated into 30 languages. In 1977, the Louisi ...

" on '' The Outer View'' (1962) is highly regarded).

Europe

In 1964, Russell, who as a half black man was dismayed by race relations in the United States, moved to

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. He toured Europe with his sextet and lived in

for five years, teaching at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion In 1966, he was part of the first

Pori Jazz Pori Jazz is a large international jazz festival, held annually during the month of July in the coastal city of Pori (a population of 82,809 in January 2010), Finland. It is one of the oldest and best known jazz festivals in Europe, having bee ...

festival. Through the early 1970s, Russell did most of his work in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and Sweden. He played there with young musicians who would go on to international fame: guitarist

Terje Rypdal Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypda ...

, saxophonist

Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...

and drummer Jon Christensen. This Scandinavian period also provided opportunities to write for larger groupings, and Russell's larger-scale compositions of this time pursue his idea of "vertical form", which he described as ''"layers or strata of divergent modes of rhythmic behaviour"''. The '' Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature'', commissioned by Bosse Broberg of Swedish Radio for the Radio Orchestra, was first recorded in 1968, as an extended work recorded with electronic tape. It continued Russell's continuing exploration of new approaches and new instrumentation. Russell returned to America in 1969, when

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

assumed the presidency of the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

in Boston and appointed Russell to teach the Lydian Concept in the newly created jazz studies department, a position he held for many years. As Russell toured with his own groups, he was persistent in developing the Lydian Concept. He played the Bottom Line, Newport, Wolftrap, The Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, Sweet Basil and more with his 14-member orchestra.

Later works

In the 1970s Russell was commissioned to write and record 3 major works: '' Listen to the Silence'', a

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

for orchestra and chorus for the Norwegian Cultural Fund; '' Living Time'', commissioned by Bill Evans for Columbia Records; and '' Vertical Form VI'' for the Swedish Radio. With ''Living Time'' (1972), Russell reunited with Bill Evans to offer a suite of compositions which represent the stages of human life. His '' Live in an American Time Spiral'' featured many young New York players who would go on to greatness, including

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

and Ray Anderson. When he was able to form an orchestra for his 1985 work '' The African Game'', he dubbed it the Living Time Orchestra. This 14-member ensemble toured Europe and the U.S., doing frequent weeks at the

Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...

, and was praised by ''

New York magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'' as "the most exciting orchestra to hit the city in years." The work ''The African Game'', a 45-minute opus for 25 musicians, was described by Robert Palmer of ''

'' as "one of the most important new releases of the past several decades" and earned Russell two Grammy nominations in 1985. Russell wrote 9 extended pieces after 1984, among them: ''Timeline'' for symphonic orchestra, jazz orchestra, chorus, klezmer band and soloists, composed for the New England Conservatory's 125th anniversary; a re-orchestration of ''Living Time'' for Russell's orchestra and additional musicians, commissioned by the Cité de la Musique in Paris in 1994; and '' It's About Time'', co-commissioned by The Arts Council of England and the Swedish Concert Bureau in 1995. In 1986, Russell toured with a group of American and British musicians, resulting in The International Living Time Orchestra. He played with Dave Bargeron, Steve Lodder, Tiger Okoshi, Mike Walker, Brad Hatfield, and Andy Sheppard.

Music theory

Russell's ''

'' re-conceptualized the matching of

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

with

chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

. While the conventional approach to the

diatonic major scale In music theory, a diatonic scale is any heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole step ...

is founded on the tones of the '' Ionian''

major scale The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double ...

in accordance with classical theory (C, D, E, F, G, A, B for the C major scale, etc.) the LCC derives the scales based on the series of fifths stacked from the root tones of chords with a

major third In classical music, a third is a Interval (music), musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval (music)#Number, Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four semitones.Allen Forte, ...

. In the key of C, the stacked fifth series includes C, G, D, A, E, B, and F, which provide an alternate seven tone division for the C major scale with a raised, or ''augmented'', fourth tone. The resulting scale, with an augmented fourth (F) instead of a perfect fourth (F), has more

consonance In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unpl ...

than the conventional ''Ionian'' diatonic major scale over chords, avoiding the dissonant half-step from the major third (E). With the conventional major scale, dissonance is avoided by omitting the perfect fourth; by using the '' Lydian'' mode with the more consonant augmented fourth, the player or composer gains the tonal freedom that facilitates modal playing over chords with a major third. Lydian major-third chords are specified with a 11, which is equivalent to the 4 in the scale. It was a remark made by

in 1944 when Russell asked him his musical aim that led Russell on a quest which was to lead to his theoretical breakthrough. Davis answered that his musical aim was "to learn all the

changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

." Knowing that Davis already knew how to arpeggiate each chord, Russell reasoned that he really meant that he wanted to find a new and broader way to relate to chords. As musician and scholar

Darius Brubeck Darius Brubeck (born June 14, 1947) is an American jazz keyboardist and educator. He is the son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck. He spent many years in Durban, South Africa, as a professor and head of the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at the Univ ...

wrote:

Russell codified the modal approach to harmony ... inspired by a casual remark the eighteen-year-old Miles Davis made to him in 1944: Miles said he wanted to learn all the changes and I reasoned he might try to find the closest scale for every chord ... Davis popularized those liberating ideas in recordings like ''Kind of Blue'', undermining the entire harmonic foundation of bop that had inspired him and Russell in the first place.Mervyn Cooke, David Horn (2003) '' The Cambridge companion to jazz''. .

Miles reportedly summarized the LCC succinctly by saying, "F should be where middle C is on the piano" hite notes: F-F = Lydian major, rather than Ionian major = C-C The Lydian Chromatic Concept was the first codified original theory to come from jazz. Musicians who assimilated Russell's ideas expanded their harmonic language beyond that of bebop, into the realm of

post-bop Post-bop is a genre of small-combo jazz that evolved in the early to mid 1960s in the United States. Pioneers of the genre, such as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and Jackie McLean, crafted syntheses ...

. Russell's ideas influenced the development of

modal jazz Modal jazz is jazz that makes use of musical modes, often modulating among them to accompany the chords instead of relying on one tonal center used across the piece. Although precedents exist, modal jazz was crystallized as a theory by compose ...

, notably in the album ''Jazz Workshop'' (1957, with Bill Evans and featuring the "Concerto for Billy the Kid") as well as his writings.

also pushed into modal playing with the composition ''Miles'' on his 1957 album ''Milestones''. Davis and Evans later collaborated on the 1959 album '' Kind of Blue'', which featured modal composition and playing. John Coltrane explored modal playing for several years after playing on ''Kind of Blue.'' His Lydian Concept has been described as making available resources rather than imposing constraints on musicians. According to the influential 20th century composer

Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to: * TORU, spacecraft system * Toru (given name), Japanese male given name * Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan *Tõru Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western ...

, "The Lydian Chromatic Concept is one of the two most splendid books about music; the other is My Musical Language by

Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonicall ...

. Though I'm considered a contemporary music composer, if I dare categorize myself as an artist, I've been strongly influenced by the Lydian Concept, which is not simply a musical method—we might call it a philosophy of music, or we might call it poetry."

The major scale probably emerged as the predominating scale of Western music, because within its seven tones lies the most fundamental harmonic progression of the classical era ... thus, the major scale ''resolves'' to its tonic major chord. The Lydian scale ''is'' the sound of its tonic major chord.

George Russell died of complications from Alzheimer's disease in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 27, 2009, according to his publicist.

Awards

He received a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant in 1989. In his career, Russell also received the 1990

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

American Jazz Master Award, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and the British Jazz Award, among others. He has been elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, won the Oscar du Disque de Jazz Award, the Guardian Award, the American Music Award, six NEA Music Fellowships and numerous others. He taught throughout the world, and was a guest conductor for German, Italian, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish radio groups.

Discography

As leader

* '' The Jazz Workshop'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * '' New York, N.Y.'' (Decca, 1959) * '' George Russell Sextet at the Five Spot'' (Decca, 1960) * '' Jazz in the Space Age'' (Decca, 1960) * '' Stratusphunk'' (Riverside, 1960) * ''

'' (Riverside, 1961) * '' George Russell Sextet in K.C.'' (Brunswick, 1961) * '' The Outer View'' (Riverside, 1962) * ''

The Stratus Seekers ''The Stratus Seekers'' is an album by George Russell released in May or June 1962 on Riverside Records. The album contains performances by Russell with John Pierce, David Baker, Paul Plummer, Don Ellis, Steve Swallow and Joe Hunt. Reception ...

'' (Riverside, 1962) * '' George Russell Sextet at Beethoven Hall'' (SABA, 1965) * '' Othello Ballet Suite/Electronic Organ Sonata No. 1'' (Flying Dutchman, 1970) * '' Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature'' (Flying Dutchman, 1971) * ''The Esoteric Circle'' (Flying Dutchman, 1971) * '' The Essence of George Russell'' (Sonet, 1971) * '' Listen to the Silence'' (Concept, 1973) * ''Outer Thoughts'' (Milestone, 1975) * Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved By Nature - 1980 (Soul Note, 1980) * '' New York Big Band'' (Soul Note, 1982) * '' Trip to Prillarguri'' (Soul Note, 1982) * '' Live in an American Time Spiral'' (Soul Note, 1983) * '' The African Game'' (Blue Note, 1985) * '' So What'' (Blue Note, 1986) * ''New York'' (Electric Bird, 1988) * '' The London Concert'' (Label Bleu, 1995) * '' It's About Time'' (Label Bleu, 1996) * '' The 80th Birthday Concert'' (Concept, 2005) * ''Things New'' (RLR, 2007) * '' George Russell Sextet Live in Breman and Paris 1964'' (Gambit, 2008)

As sideman

, ''Svengali'' (Atlantic, 1973) *

, ''Portrait of Sheila'' (Blue Note, 1962) *

Lucy Reed Lucy Reed (January 14, 1921 – July 1, 1998) was an American jazz singer, active on the Chicago jazz scene in the 1950s. She was born in Marshfield, Wisconsin as Lucille Dollinger. In 1955, she performed with Bill Evans in New York City, and Di ...

, ''This Is Lucy Reed'' (Fantasy, 1957)

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Katsui Sudo's George Russell discographyLydian Chromatic ConceptModalJazz.comGeorge Russell musicJazz Portraits from the WGBH Archives: George Russell
a radio documentary fro
WGBH Radio Boston
– Daily Telegraph obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, George 1923 births 2009 deaths African-American jazz musicians American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz educators American jazz pianists American male pianists American music arrangers American music theorists Culture of Boston Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Massachusetts Jazz arrangers MacArthur Fellows Jazz musicians from Massachusetts New England Conservatory faculty Musicians from Boston Musicians from Cincinnati Strata-East Records artists Riverside Records artists Third stream musicians Wilberforce University alumni 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American musicologists New York Jazz Repertory Company members 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers Label Bleu artists African-American pianists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people