George Russell - Newport 1964 & Europe 1965

Here's the second Russell show - from his prime, I'd say! An earlier version of this that I shared on dime was promptly bootlegged by the Spanish thieves from RLR (Rare Live Recordings they call themselves, ha!). That CD, which also contains a short session from Lenox, Mass.' "Music Inn", was a straight rip from a compilation I put up on dime.

But alas, the same anonymous donor who sent me the 1987 show just posted, also sent me an upgrade of the Newport 1964 show, as well as more tunes from the other date, which turned out to be from Europe, April or May 1965 (see the detailed notes below for more info - the Zurich location is just a best guess at this point).

So for once, the thieves lost and we'll have a better, free version in circulation!

They offer another Russell boot with a Paris and a Bremen date, both from 1964. The Paris again was ripped off from me, I suppose (I got it in trade, it was added once to the Italian magazine "Musica Jazz", an editor of which was kind enough to share it with me and gave the ok to share it further), while the Bremen date was ripped from another dimer.

On the Newport set, you get to hear not only Thad Jones, but also Sun Ra's true sideman, John Gilmore on tenor. Brian Trentham is on trombone, a young Steve Swallow on double bass, Albert "Tootie" Heath on drums, and the great Sheila Jordan turns up for her showcase, "You Are My Sunshine".

For the European show, we have Eje Thelin on trombone, Bertil Lofgren on trumpet, Bernt Rosengren on tenor and flute, Roman Dylag on bass, and again Tootie Heath on drums. The sound here is superior to the one cut-off tune the thieves have on their release.

Now I shut up and let the music speak - be prepared for a real treat!



George Russell
Newport Jazz Festival
Newport, RI (USA)
July 3, 1964

Thad Jones - cornet
Brian Trentham - trombone
John Gilmore - tenor sax
George Russell - piano
Steve Swallow - bass
Albert Heath - drums
Sheila Jordan - vocals (#5)

1. Stage Intro & Announcement by George Russell (2:09)
2. The Outer View (Russell) 9:25
3. Stratusphunk (Russell) 7:12
4. Volupte (Russell) 12:23
5. You Are My Sunshine (trad., arr. Russell) 10:23

TT: 41:57

Sound: A-
Source/Lineage: unknown (sbd?) > CDR in trade > EAC (secure, log) > FLAC (8,asb,verify)


Note: this was broadcast on WKCR-FM (the other circulating source), but this may well be from a different source.



George Russell
prob. Zurich (Switzerland), Volkshaus
April 30, 1965

Bertil Lofgren - trumpet
Eje Thelin - trombone
Bernt Rosengren - tenor sax, flute
George Russell - piano
Roman Dylag - bass
Al Heath - drums

6. You Are My Sunshine (trad., arr. George Russell) 10:58
7. Lydiot (George Russell) 10:01
8. 'Round Midnight (Monk-Hanighen-Williams) 6:46

TT: 27:46

Sound: A- (some print-through)
Source/Lineage: radio broadcast > CDR in trade > EAC (secure, log) > FLAC (8,asb,verify)


Notes:

rillenheini (who knew Eje Thelin and did some lengthy interviews with him) says:
Russell toured Europe with this sextet in April and May 1965. They were recorded for three radio stations:
April 1965: Stockholm (Sweden), Gyllen Cirkeln
April 1965: Copenhagen (Denmark), Montmartre Jazzhus
April 30, 1965: Zurich (Switzerland), Volkshaus
May 1965 Gent (Belgium)
Likely, #6-8 originate from one of these recordings, most likely from the Zurich or Gent concerts, as the sound suggests a large venue (unlike Montmartre and Gyllen Cirkeln).

Further, here's a quote in Jazz Podium 5/1965, p. 115:
George Russell hat in Stockholm ein neues Sextett gebildet, in dem Bertil Lövgren tp, Eje Thelin tb, Bernt Rosengren ts, Romas Dylag b und Al Heath dr spielen. Er stellte sich mit dieser Gruppe erstmals im Stockholmer Gyllene Cirkeln vor und will dann damit auf Reisen gehen. Bisher sind Gastspiele im Kopenhagener Montmartre, in Brüssel und Zürich vorgesehen.

And Jazz Podium 6/1965, p. 155, contains a review of the Zurich concert, written by Joe Viera.


Dime history note: A cut-off version of #8 was included as "unknown European date - July 1964". To my ears, that title sounds very much identical with #8 included here.


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r.i.p. George Russell (June 23, 1923 - July 27, 2009)

: . : shared on dimeadozen by ubu on 2009-07-28 : . :