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A consummate small-group player and an endearing eccentric, clarinetist Pee Wee Russell was known for a totally original and adventuresome style. Characterized by squeaks, overtones, a dirty tone, bent notes and odd note choices, his playing was criticized by some as primitive, but proved brilliant over time. Because of his frequent gigs with Eddie Condon's groups in the 1930s, he became associated with Condon's Chicago group and dixieland jazz in general, though he never considered himself a dixieland player. His style, always considered rather "far out" in traditional settings, later fit right in with modern players like Thelonious Monk. Born Charles Ellsworth Russell on March 27, 1906, in St. Louis, Russell grew up in Muskogee, Okla. He began playing clarinet in the early 1920s and moved to New York in 1927, having already performed with Jack Teagarden, Frank Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke, who was his main musical influence. He first recorded in 1929 with Red Nichols and his Five Pennies, a band that also featured Glenn Miller, Teagarden, Bud Freeman and Condon. Into the '30s and '40s, he played with numerous traditional jazzmen, including Bobby Hackett, Wild Bill Davison, Louis Prima, Billy Butterfield, Muggsy Spanier, George Wettling and Art Hodes. Throughout most of the 1940s, he was a mainstay at Nick's, the Greenwich Village club that fostered hot-jazz musicians as the swing era evolved into bop. During this time, he recorded for the Commodore label under his own name and as a sideman. In the early '50s, Russell's health declined. After weeks in the hospital, though, he recovered and continued his career. The Individualism Of Pee Wee Russell, released on Savoy in 1952, documents Russell leading a strong sextet shortly after his recovery. Into the 1960s, he continued to tour, record and receive wider recognition. In 1963, he played with Monk at the Newport Jazz Festival. (Though his appearance was critically acclaimed, Russell later said in a Blindfold Test that there was "no rehearsal, just pushed onto the stage, and I didn't fit into that group. Anyway, I don't like that kind of music.") He formed a pianoless quartet with valve trombonist Marshall Brown with a repertoire that included pieces by John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. He also performed on a big band album with Oliver Nelson and continued to work in more traditional contexts. He died of a liver condition on Feb. 15, 1969. In 1969, Russell was elected by the Critics into the Down Beat Hall of Fame. |