Results for "Benny Rusell"

Benny Russell

Saxophonist Benny Russell, a graduate of Morgan State University, moved to New York shortly after graduation and quickly formed a jazz orchestra called the NEW YORK ASSOCIATION – a seventeen piece ensemble that featured such noted jazz artists as trumpeters Cecil Bridgewater and Tom Harrell, saxophonist John Purcell, trombonists Steve Turre and Robin Eubanks, pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs, and drummer Mike Clark.

Russell chaired the jazz division at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, where he also taught jazz history. While working at the Conservatory, he was able to launch a string of other cultural activities that served Brooklyn, including a program of workshops for high school students in the Brooklyn public school system, the Charlie Parker Birthday Festival, and regular performances with the Next Legacy Orchestra. In February, 2002, Russell presented his work Langston Hughes: The Soul of His Words at the Museum of Natural History in New York.