Jazz Articles about John Russell

John Russell: Analekta

by AAJ Italy Staff
July 23, 2007

Fa sempre piacere ascoltare dal vivo il chitarrista John Russell nei suoi concerti della serie Modernism-Post Modernism-So What? (accorciato in Mopomoso) che si svolgono ogni mese nella capitale britannica. L'improvvisazione viene celebrata in tutti i suoi aspetti, in formazioni che spaziano dal duo a altre dagli organici piú complessi, e musicisti di tutti i tipi scelgono il rischio dell'esibizione in pubblico alla ricerca di nuove vie. Su disco ci sono dei commilitoni che di solito seguono le vie del mainstream, ...

John Russell: Analekta (2004/06)

by Nic Jones
May 28, 2007

Guitarist John Russell has always devoted himself to the cause of free improvisation as a vocation and the music he and his cohorts make here is arguably the best-realized example of his art on record to date.

The more time passes the more obvious it becomes that Russell just might be one of the most committed group players working in this relatively rarefied field. This is especially true of “The Bite," played as a duo in the company of tenor ...

John Russell: Analekta

by John Eyles
May 12, 2007

This release features three duos recorded at John Russell's monthly Mopomoso concerts, plus a large ensemble captured at the Freedom of the City festival in 2006. Each of the duos finds the guitarist in the company of a player not often recorded--saxophonist Garry Todd, trumpeter Henry Lowther and saxophonist/percussionist Chefa Alonso--but all deserving wider exposure.

Russell and Todd first played together in the 1970s, sharing a debut album on Incus records in 1975. The duo here is their first recorded ...

John Russell / Maarten Altena / Terry Day: The Fairly Young Bean

by Robert Spencer
December 1, 1999

This string/percussion trio explores textures on these twenty-six brief tracks. Some are briefer than others: “See for Yourself" is the longest at 9:28, and “Emphasis" is almost nine minutes. But eleven tracks are under two minutes long.

Eschewing melodic and rhythmic continuity, John Russell (guitar), Maarten Altena (cello, bass), and Terry Day (percussion), build up small clusters of sound in these small spaces, relying mostly on the percussive possibilities of each instrument. Occasionally, however, Russell coaxes some clear bell-like tones ...