By Charlie Dahan
World War II serves as a wonderful dividing line to how music progressed in the 1940's and 50's. Several independent labels went out of business prior to the war due to both the depression's effect on the music business and the fact that shellac had to be rationed for the war efforts. The music prior and during World War II was pop 'major label' released fare that didn't offer much in revolution, progression or documentation of roots music. Once World War II was over, the nation enjoyed a solid economic recovery and while they didn't go anywhere, a few entrepreneurs took advantage of recording jazz's new progression out of the danceable pop swing style of the time to the more arty bop sounds that were being developed in Harlem and Los Angeles. One such entrepreneur was Ross Russell.
Russell began his career in music as a collector of pre-war 78 jazz recordings and is often considered one of the first canvassers of rare jazz records. His love of jazz flourishes when he takes a trip to New York City in 1938 and stops at the legendary Commodore Records and Music Shop owned by Milt Graber and which housed Grabers' Commodore label. Russell saw that you could earn a living by surrounding yourself with what you love. Upon returning from service in World War II, Russell used the money that he saved while in service and opened the Tempo Record Store in Los Angeles, California.
While business was good, Russell never seemed to notch a place for himself or his store until the day he ordered a box lot (25 78RPM records) of a Charlie Parker recording on the small independent label, Comet Records. He loved the vibrancy of the music and its originality, but felt it wouldn't sell well. Much to his surprise, word spread that Tempo carried the latest and hottest bop recordings and his shop soon became a popular hangout for the 'west coast hipster jazz scene.' Here he meets Marvin Freeman, an attorney and jazz enthusiast, who will help finance Russell's new endeavor, Dial Records.
One of the first artists that Russell brought to Dial was the very same Charlie Parker whose Comet recording helped to bring an identity to Russell and Tempo. Russell benefited from the western migration of jazz's new breed of adventurous players, as artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Wardell Grey and Charlie Parker were taking residence in LA's growing jazz scene. Russell signed Parker to an exclusive recording contract in 1946, as well as taking on management responsibilities for the next two years. The sessions that Russell would oversee would produce such landmark recordings as "Ornithology," "Yardbird Suite," and "Scrapple in the Apple." The earlier Parker sessions would feature a new trumpet player named Miles Davis. Russell adapted the independent label philosophy to offer his artists freedom to explore their art and vision, surround them with the best sidemen available and to let them have the final say in the selection of material to record.
While most of the releases on Dial are considered classics, Russell was also an innovator, as he kept everything that was recorded in the studio, whether or not it was any good, finished, or even worthy of the material the song was recorded on. This resembles his collecting mentality that he adopted as a pursuer of early and rare jazz recording by artists such as Jellyroll Morton, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. The early labels like Paramount, Black Swan and Gennett who released recordings by these artists, didn't know of the eventual value of these masters and either threw them away, sold them for scrap or lost track of them entirely. Russell knew the value of everything that was being recorded and preserved every second and every sound. Russell would be criticized over the years (Miles Davis being the loudest of them) for releasing and making available to the public, session where Parker wasn't coherent, played poorly, a lesser alternate take and so on. But, these recordings offer the serious listener a wonderful insight into the recording artist and the recording process that makes us understand and appreciate these artists more. Some could even argue that Russell was the father of the box-set / 'complete recordings' concept that would include out-takes and alternate takes.
After several productive years with Parker, Russell records his best selling release in 1947 with Dexter Gordon's "The Chase." But, by 1948, Parker leaves for Norman Granz's Verve label and Russell, who can not make a living with Dial, stops recording jazz and focuses on a career as critic and author (writing the definitive Charlie Parker book "Bird Lives: The High Life and Hard Times of Charlie 'Yardbird' Parker." ) He sold Dial Records to Concert Hall records for approximately $25,000 and had abandoned the Tempo store several years prior to focus on Dial. But, he does help Concert in compiling and annotating Dial's catalog for a series of releases.
Ross Russell passed away in December 2000, leaving behind a brief, but important documentation of some great music and the advancements those artists like Parker, Davis and Gordon were making with jazz.
More about Ross Russell by Steve Voce.
