The Essence of George Russell
Encyclopedia
The Essence of George Russell is an album by George Russell originally released on the Norwegian Sonet
label in 1971, and subsequently remastered and released on the Italian Black Saint
label in 1983, featuring performances by Russell with Stanton Davis
, Jan Garbarek
, Terje Rypdal
, Arild Andersen
, Jon Christensen
and orchestra. The Allmusic review by Brian Olewnick states "The Essence Of... contained George Russell's first large-scale work to incorporate electronic elements from contemporary classical music as well as an emerging influence of modern rock. "Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature" is a massive work... the composition progresses from theme to theme, many of them propulsive and groove-oriented, serving as platforms for improvisations from the featured players... "Now and Then," recorded a couple of years prior to the other pieces, is more along the lines of Russell's previous work, especially as heard on his At Beethoven Hall
recording: good, rambunctious big band jazz. On the whole, highly recommended".
Sonet Records
Sonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
label in 1971, and subsequently remastered and released on the Italian Black Saint
Black Saint/Soul Note
Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian jazz independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz.-History:...
label in 1983, featuring performances by Russell with Stanton Davis
Stanton Davis
Stanton Davis, Jr. is an American jazz trumpeter and educator.Davis studied at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory , and served as program director for MIT's radio station from 1968-74. He received his master's in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University in 1983...
, Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek is a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war Czesław Garbarek and a Norwegian farmer's daughter...
, Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on albums of the German record label ECM. Rypdal has collaborated both as a guitarist and as a composer with other ECM artists such as Ketil Bjørnstad and David Darling...
, Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...
, Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen is a Norwegian jazz percussionist.In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell....
and orchestra. The Allmusic review by Brian Olewnick states "The Essence Of... contained George Russell's first large-scale work to incorporate electronic elements from contemporary classical music as well as an emerging influence of modern rock. "Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature" is a massive work... the composition progresses from theme to theme, many of them propulsive and groove-oriented, serving as platforms for improvisations from the featured players... "Now and Then," recorded a couple of years prior to the other pieces, is more along the lines of Russell's previous work, especially as heard on his At Beethoven Hall
George Russell Sextet at Beethoven Hall
George Russell Sextet at Beethoven Hall is a 1965 live album by George Russell originally released in two volumes on the MPS label and featuring a performance by Russell with Don Cherry, Bertil Lövgren, Brian Trentham, Ray Pitts, Cameron Brown, and Albert Heath...
recording: good, rambunctious big band jazz. On the whole, highly recommended".
Track listing
- All compositions by George Russell
- "Electric Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature - Part I" - 19:45
- "Electric Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature - Part II" - 19:51
- "Electric Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature - Part III" - 20:53
- "Now and Then" - 14:07
- Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden 1966 & 1967.
Personnel
- George Russell - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, conductor - Jan GarbarekJan GarbarekJan Garbarek is a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war Czesław Garbarek and a Norwegian farmer's daughter...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Jon ChristensenJon ChristensenJon Christensen is a Norwegian jazz percussionist.In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell....
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Jan AllanJan AllanJan Bertil Allan is a Swedish jazz trumpeter and composer. He is a winner of the Grammis awards, the Swedish equivalent to the Grammys. He has also composed for several films such as The Adventures of Picasso ....
, Maffy FalayMuvaffak "Maffy" FalayMuvaffak "Maffy" Falay is a Turkish trumpeter. Born in 1930 in Kuşadası, he studied trumpet and piano in Ankara Conservatory. In 1960 he entered the radio orchestra under the conduction of Kurt Edelhagen, in Köln...
, Bertil Lövgren - trumpet - Erik Nilsson - baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - Rune Gustafsson - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Stanton DavisStanton DavisStanton Davis, Jr. is an American jazz trumpeter and educator.Davis studied at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory , and served as program director for MIT's radio station from 1968-74. He received his master's in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University in 1983...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
(tracks 1-3) - Terje RypdalTerje RypdalTerje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on albums of the German record label ECM. Rypdal has collaborated both as a guitarist and as a composer with other ECM artists such as Ketil Bjørnstad and David Darling...
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
(tracks 1-3) - Arild AndersenArild AndersenArild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(tracks 1-3) - Lars Samuelsson - trumpet (tracks 1-3)
- Arne DomnerusArne DomnérusSven Arne Domnérus was a Swedish jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist, popularly nicknamed Dompan....
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
(tracks 1-3) - Claes Rosendahl - tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
(tracks 1-3) - Lennart Åberg - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute (tracks 1-3)
- Olle LindOlle LindOlle Lind is a Swedish jazz trombonist.His classical music education mixed with strong improvisational skills made the work Hugin and Munin on the album Blåsländor with Radiojazzgruppen in 1970 one of the highlights of Swedish jazz history....
- bass trombone (tracks 1-3) - Berndt Egerbladh - vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, xylophoneXylophoneThe xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
(tracks 1-3) - Bengt HallbergBengt HallbergBengt Hallberg is one of Sweden's most influential jazz musicians. He studied classical piano from a very early age, and at 13 years old he wrote his first jazz arrangement. In 1949 he recorded with the Swedish alto saxophonist Arne Domnérus for the first time, an association which has continued...
- piano (tracks 1-3) - Georg Riedel - bass (tracks 1-3)
- Egil JohansenEgil Johansen (musician)Egil Johansen was a Norwegian-Swedish jazz drummer, teacher, composer, and arranger.-Life:...
- drums (tracks 1-3) - Sabu MartinezSabu MartinezLouis "Sabu" Martinez was an American conguero and percussionist. A prominent player in the Cubop movement in the 1950s, Martinez appeared on many important recordings and live performances during that period...
- congas (tracks 1-3) - Georg Vernon, Gunnar Medberg - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
(track 4) - Runo Ericksson - bass trombone (track 4)
- Christer BoustedtChrister BoustedtChrister Boustedt was a Swedish musician and actor. He was primarily a jazz musician playing the saxophone, and contributed film music to many Swedish films.-Selected filmography:...
, Claes Rosendahl - alto saxophone (track 4) - Bernt RosengrenBernt RosengrenBernt Rosengren is a Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist. His recordings have earned him five Gyllene Skivan awards in Sweden.-Biography:...
- tenor saxophone (track 4) - Roman Dylag - bass (track 4)
- Rupert Clemendore - congas (track 4)