Russell Malone — Guitarist of the Year

By Yoshi Kato I Nov. 7, 2024

Russell Malone’s generosity with other musicians and particularly fellow guitarists was a personal hallmark.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)

As Russell Malone is voted Guitarist of the Year by DownBeat readers, his friends and fans are pondering his legacy.

While the late bandleader and first-call guitarist made twin impacts as a singular instrumentalist and a selfless member of the musical community, his other trademark qualities also cemented his beloved status in the jazz community.

Malone died Aug. 23 while on tour in Japan, after battling end-stage kidney failure, at age 60. Bassist Ron Carter, who was leading The Golden Striker Trio with Malone and pianist Donald Vega on tour at the time, issued a statement soon after saying: “Mr. Malone suffered a heart attack upon completion of our performance at Blue Note Tokyo. Donald Vega and I are completing this tour as a duo in respect and honor of the memory of Mr. Malone.”

“I really think Russell Malone was one of those generational talents,” said scholar, educator and tenor saxophonist Loren Schoenberg in a phone interview. “People like him don’t appear often.”

Born in Albany, Georgia, Malone first explored guitar at age 4 and was playing in church two years later. Largely self-taught, he moved to Houston after graduating from high school and played with organist Al Rylander. He relocated to Atlanta in 1985 before settling in New York, where he played with organ legend Jimmy Smith from 1988 to 1990.

Malone’s profile increased when he joined Harry Connick Jr.’s band in 1990. He played with the then-rapidly rising star until 1994 and made a deep impact on the pianist, vocalist and actor. “From the moment I met Russell, well over 30 years ago, I knew my life was about to change for the better,” Connick wrote, in an email to DownBeat. “Russell’s musical brilliance, his encyclopedic knowledge of American music and deeply soulful, skillful artistic personality were unmatched. But what I’ll miss the most are his giant, sensitive, goofy heart and fierce sense of humor.”

While playing with Connick, Malone recorded his self-titled debut for Columbia. It featured bassist Milt Hinton, who praised Malone in the liner notes: “I’ve had the opportunity to record with many of the guitar greats from the jazz world — Charlie Christian, George Barnes, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, Barry Galbraith, Barney Kessel, Mundell Lowe, Bucky Pizzarelli and Wes Montgomery, to name just a few. Russell Malone extends the musical traditions begun by these and many other guitarists.

“His amazing dexterity is evident throughout the album. His decisions to use an electric or acoustic instrument on a particular piece are impeccable. They show me that he truly appreciates the beauty of his instrument at the same time he is aware of its limitations.”

The easy rapport that Malone and Connick enjoyed can be heard on that debut album’s recording of “I Don’t Know Enough About You.” It’s a rare vocal showcase for Malone, who receives expert support on piano from his then-bandleader boss.

The warmth and charm and slight mischief of Malone’s personality comes through in his singing, with Connick’s accompaniment alternately elegant and playful. Malone verbally encourages Connick as he starts to solo, and Connick returns the enthusiasm as Malone does his only playing on the track (tastily choosing an acoustic guitar).

Guitarist, vocalist and educator Doug Wamble’s life changed as a result of Malone’s collaboration with Connick. An ensemble director and guitar instructor at Juilliard, Wamble was introduced to Connick’s music by his mother, who was a fan and took him to see Connick in concert in Memphis in the fall of 1990.

“Russell played a couple of solos that totally blew my mind. Harry was taking questions from the audience at one point, and I raised my hand and asked what kind of guitar Russell played,” Wamble said. “I was a recording engineering major at the time at what’s now the University of Memphis, and the next day I changed my major to jazz guitar because of Russell. It was him who made me think, ‘Maybe I can do this.’”

After touring and recording with Connick, Malone then teamed up with another high-profile vocalist/pianist, Diana Krall, playing in her trio and quartet from 1994 to 1998. Collaborations with Carter and also pianist Benny Green and vocalist Dianne Reeves followed, as did tours and albums as a leader.

“I don’t think that there is a song that Russell didn’t know the lyrics to,” said Reeves, by phone from her home in Denver. “And when you’re singing with someone who knows the lyrics to the song, they understand the interpretation. They understand you know what the spirit of the song is about.”

Reeves first brought Malone aboard to record her 2001 album The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan and then 2008’s When You Know, which were both released on Blue Note. She later formed her Strings Attached trio with Malone and Romero Lubambo, her regular guitarist.

“It was this hybrid of Brazilian music and jazz, and I had wondered how it was going to work out,” Reeves said. “But sitting in that space between two different-sounding guitarists with different approaches, it was natural. There was respect for everyone on stage.”

Like Connick, Reeves also resonated with Malone’s personal side: “Russell, he knew so many people. He was just really good about being in touch with people,” she shared. “He could sit up for hours and talk to you about people’s stories. It was beautiful.”

In addition to an infectious smile and an unimpeachable dress sense, Malone’s generosity with other musicians and particularly fellow guitarists was a personal hallmark. “There are many great players who are wonderful mentors, but Russell outdid them all in the sense of seemingly showing up at every gig of the players that he admired or wanted to support and also sitting in and playing,” Schoenberg recalled. “He was just so approachable.”

“Wherever he was, he was always eager to get out and hear the local guitarists. He had a list of them in every city,” wrote Ottawa-based journalist and author Paul Wells on Facebook.

Wamble’s personal introduction was through cold-calling the several Atlanta-residing Russell Malones whom he found listed in the phone book: “I mentioned that night in Memphis, which was maybe three years before, and Russell remembered me. He was really cool and talked to me on the phone for like an hour,” Wamble recalled. “And later, when I moved to New York, I took the PATH train to Jersey, where he was living, and we hung out for the day. We had some lunch and just played tunes on a bunch of his guitars.”

Throughout his three-decade-plus recording career, Malone released albums on labels such as Verve, Telarc, MAXJAZZ and HighNote Records. He contributed to projects by the likes of Natalie Cole, Rickie Lee Jones and Joss Stone as well as ones by B.B. King, Ray Brown, Marian McPartland and many others.

Because of his skill and openness, he was an in-demand guitarist for projects as varied as late trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s Afro-Cuban Crisol project; late pianist/composer Geri Allen’s Erroll Garner Project for the 2015 Monterey Jazz Festival; and in June a performance of Oscar Peterson’s large-ensemble, long-form compositions produced by SFJAZZ. He was also a member of the Monterey Jazz Festival’s MJF52 All-Star Tour in 2010 with vocalist Kurt Elling, violinist Regina Carter, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake.

“The thing about Russell was he really could play with any musician. I knew Hank Jones very well for many years, and there was something in Russell’s attitude, something in his generosity and his dignity, that reminded me so much of Hank Jones,” Schoenberg noted. “People would hire Hank Jones or Russell Malone for any kind of musical setting because they knew both left their ego at the door when they walked in and that their only goal was to make things better and also to bring a positive spirit to the whole thing.”

“Russell knew so much music, too. He could play the blues — just straight-up, Buddy Guy stank, nasty blues. And he would have fun on the bandstand. He took the music, but never himself, so seriously,” Wamble concluded. “Every time you heard Russell play, it was humanity.”

A blossoming educator, Malone had served on the jazz faculty of William Paterson University since the 2021–’22 academic year. It was his sole official teaching position, though the number of musical and life lessons he gave over his lifetime is immeasurable. DB