John Russell (musician)
Encyclopedia
John Russell is an acoustic guitarist who has worked exclusively in the field of free improvisation
since the 1970s. He has been active consistently during that time as a promoter of concerts of freely improvised music in London, providing hundreds of playing opportunities for both local and international musicians. Russell has appeared on more than 50 published recordings. He has been described as “…an acoustic guitar loyalist who always manages to combine a classical delicacy with the fire of rock”.
suggested that Derek Bailey and Sonny Sharrock
were the two musicians doing the most to push the boundaries of the instrument. On moving to London at the age of 17, he quickly became involved with the free improvisation scene, playing at The Little Theatre Club (run by drummer and educator John Stevens
), becoming a member of the Musicians’ Co-op and starting to organise concerts. In 1975, he helped co-found the journal Musics
. Russell took weekly lessons in conventional technique from Derek Bailey for about a year, then in 1977 he gave up the electric guitar to play the acoustic guitar exclusively.
Apart from solo playing, Russell can be seen playing in numerous one-off performances with musicians at his monthly Mopomoso club in London. He tours regularly, has a long-running trio with saxophonist John Butcher
and violinist Phil Durrant and duos with Roger Turner
, Stefan Keune, Phil Minton
, Evan Parker
and Luc Houtkamp. In 1981, he founded Quaqua, an ensemble that varies in size and draws from a large pool of improvisers.
In 1983, he appeared in the Channel 4 TV documentary Jazz on Four: Crossing Bridges which looked at four innovators of jazz and improvised guitar. The other players were Brian Godding
, Fred Frith
, Ron Geesin
, Hans Reichel
and Keith Rowe
. His feature on the late Japanese improvising guitarist, Masayuki Takayanagi
was broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Jazz on 3 on 22 February 2010.
Other notable improvising acoustic guitar recordings include Green Wood (Emanem, 2002) by Roger Smith and Velocity of Hue by Elliott Sharp
(Emanem, 2003).
later that same year and its monthly promotions are ongoing.
Performers at the club include established as well as younger players, local musicians and international guests. Notable players have recently included: Evan Parker, Richard Barrett
, Lol Coxhill
, John Butcher, Sylvia Hallett, Louis Moholo
, Phil Minton, Veryan Weston, Roger Turner, Tim Hodgkinson
, Maggie Nicols
, Tania Chen
, Sabu Toyozumi, Steve Beresford
, John Edwards, Kay Grant, Gail Brand, Oren Marshall, Ute Wasserman, Pat Thomas, Gino Robair
, Steve Noble, Terry Day, Alan Tomlinson, Alan Wilkinson, John Coxon
, Alex Ward, Martin Speake, Adam Bohman and Max Eastley.
Mopomoso special promotions include an annual Christmas event featuring a large number of improvising musicians playing over the course of an afternoon and evening in various combinations; occasional workshops; and Fete Quaqua where a large pool of musicians is assembled to play in different groupings over the course of three evenings in a similar manner to Derek Bailey’s Company Week
.
, Günther Christmann, Jon Rose
, Chris Burns’ Ensemble and various Evan Parker projects as well as a number of CDs of recordings from the "Freedom of the City" festivals. A full discography is maintained at European Free Improvisation Pages.
With various improvising groups
Solo recordings
With Butcher/Durrant/Russell
Roger Turner Duo
Stefan Keune Duo
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
since the 1970s. He has been active consistently during that time as a promoter of concerts of freely improvised music in London, providing hundreds of playing opportunities for both local and international musicians. Russell has appeared on more than 50 published recordings. He has been described as “…an acoustic guitar loyalist who always manages to combine a classical delicacy with the fire of rock”.
Early years
John Russell was raised by his paternal grandparents in rural Kent, and his grandfather gave him his first guitar at the age of 11. At school, he taught himself guitar and formed a group to perform his compositions. He discovered free improvisation after King Crimson guitarist Robert FrippRobert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
suggested that Derek Bailey and Sonny Sharrock
Sonny Sharrock
Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
were the two musicians doing the most to push the boundaries of the instrument. On moving to London at the age of 17, he quickly became involved with the free improvisation scene, playing at The Little Theatre Club (run by drummer and educator John Stevens
John Stevens (drummer)
John William Stevens was an English drummer. He was one of the most significant figures in early free improvisation, and a founding member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble .-Biography:Stevens was born in Brentford, the son of a tap dancer...
), becoming a member of the Musicians’ Co-op and starting to organise concerts. In 1975, he helped co-found the journal Musics
Musics (magazine)
Musics was an independent magazine launched with Issue No. 1 April/May 1975 of MUSICS an impromental experivisation arts magazine. It was dedicated to the coverage of free improvised music. Its need was originally suggested in a conversation between Evan Parker and Madelaine and Martin Davidson.In...
. Russell took weekly lessons in conventional technique from Derek Bailey for about a year, then in 1977 he gave up the electric guitar to play the acoustic guitar exclusively.
Music
While his mature guitar technique inevitably overlaps with that of Derek Bailey, there are important differences. In a review of Analekta (Emanem, 2006) Nate Dorward writes: "Russell's debt to the instrumental vocabulary of Derek Bailey is clear throughout, especially in his attraction to wide intervals, his resolutely segmented, percussive attack, and his systematic variation of timbre and means of production (open string, fretted, harmonic, behind-the-bridge pling); its in subtler matters of pacing and mood that his individuality comes through. He tends to dwell pensively, almost circularly, on chords or motivic cells that Bailey would have brusquely disposed of, and has a very different approach to group playing, preferring to merge into the larger ensemble sound (whatever the size of the group), and play with rather than against or aslant his musical partners.”Apart from solo playing, Russell can be seen playing in numerous one-off performances with musicians at his monthly Mopomoso club in London. He tours regularly, has a long-running trio with saxophonist John Butcher
John Butcher (musician)
John Butcher is an English tenor and soprano saxophone player who has lived in London since the late 1970s. He began playing at the University of Surrey where he was studying physics...
and violinist Phil Durrant and duos with Roger Turner
Roger Turner (musician)
Roger Turner is an English jazz percussionist. He plays the drumset, drums, and various percussion, and was brought up into the jazz and visual art cultures inhabited by his older brothers, playing drums from childhood in informal jazz contexts.- Career :Turner studied English literature and...
, Stefan Keune, Phil Minton
Phil Minton
Phil Minton is a jazz/free-improvising vocalist and trumpeter.Minton is a highly dramatic baritone who tends to specialize in literary texts: he has sung lyrics by William Blake with Mike Westbrook's group, Daniil Kharms and Joseph Brodsky with Simon Nabatov, and extracts from James Joyce's...
, Evan Parker
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
and Luc Houtkamp. In 1981, he founded Quaqua, an ensemble that varies in size and draws from a large pool of improvisers.
In 1983, he appeared in the Channel 4 TV documentary Jazz on Four: Crossing Bridges which looked at four innovators of jazz and improvised guitar. The other players were Brian Godding
Brian Godding
Brian Godding is a pop, rock and jazz guitarist. He was brought up, and has mostly lived, in London.He has been a member of many rock, jazz and progressive rock bands, such as The Gravediggers, The Ingoes, Blossom Toes, B. B...
, Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
, Ron Geesin
Ron Geesin
Ronald 'Ron' Geesin is a British musician and composer, noted for his quirky creations and novel applications of sound. He is probably best known as the orchestrator and organizer of Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother" in 1970, after the band found themselves hopelessly deadlocked over how to...
, Hans Reichel
Hans Reichel
Hans Reichel was a German improvisational guitarist, experimental luthier, inventor, and type designer.-Career:...
and Keith Rowe
Keith Rowe
Keith Rowe is an English free improvisation tabletop guitarist and painter. Rowe is a founding member of both the hugely influential AMM in the mid-1960s and M.I.M.E.O. Having trained as a visual artist, Rowe's paintings have been featured on most of his own albums...
. His feature on the late Japanese improvising guitarist, Masayuki Takayanagi
Masayuki Takayanagi
Masayuki 'Jojo' Takayanagi was a Japanese jazz / free improvisation / noise musician. He was active in the Japanese jazz scene from the late 1950s. In the 1960s he formed New Directions , which recorded several albums throughout the 70s...
was broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Jazz on 3 on 22 February 2010.
Other notable improvising acoustic guitar recordings include Green Wood (Emanem, 2002) by Roger Smith and Velocity of Hue by Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer.A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released over eighty-five recordings ranging from blues, jazz, and orchestral music to noise, no wave rock,...
(Emanem, 2003).
Acta Records
In 1988 Russell helped establish Acta Records in association with John Butcher and Phil Durrant in order to release the trio’s debut recording Conceits. The label went on to produce a number of vinyl LPs, CDs and cassettes with a focus on free improvisation.Mopomoso
In the mid-1980s Russell founded the improvised music club Mopomoso with help initially from pianist, trumpeter and composer Chris Burn. The club promoted around 300 regular monthly concerts at the Red Rose Club in London until the venue’s transfer of ownership in January 2008. The club relocated to The Vortex Jazz ClubVortex Jazz Club
The Vortex Jazz Club is a London venue that primarily features live contemporary jazz. The club's official website features book reviews and jazz CD reviews by critic Chris Parker....
later that same year and its monthly promotions are ongoing.
Performers at the club include established as well as younger players, local musicians and international guests. Notable players have recently included: Evan Parker, Richard Barrett
Richard Barrett (composer)
Richard Barrett is a British composer.-Biography:Barrett began to study music seriously only after graduating in genetics and microbiology at University College London in 1980 . From then until 1983 he took private lessons with Peter Wiegold...
, Lol Coxhill
Lol Coxhill
Lowen Coxhill, generally known as Lol Coxhill is a free improvising saxophonist and raconteur...
, John Butcher, Sylvia Hallett, Louis Moholo
Louis Moholo
Louis Tebugo Moholo , is a South African jazz drummer.He formed The Blue Notes with Chris McGregor, Johnny Dyani, Nikele Moyake, Mongezi Feza and Dudu Pukwana, and emigrated to Europe with them in 1964, eventually settling in London, where he formed part of a South African exile community that made...
, Phil Minton, Veryan Weston, Roger Turner, Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
, Maggie Nicols
Maggie Nicols
Maggie Nicols , is a Scottish free-jazz and improvising vocalist, dancer, and performer.-Early life and career:...
, Tania Chen
Tania Chen
Tania Chen is a London, UK-based concert pianist specialising in experimental, improvised and contemporary music. She is known for performing the works of composers such as Cornelius Cardew , Michael Parsons, John Cage, Earle Brown , Morton Feldman and Chris Newman...
, Sabu Toyozumi, Steve Beresford
Steve Beresford
Steve Beresford is a British musician who graduated from the University of York. He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, trumpet, euphonium, double-bass and a wide variety of toy instruments, such as the toy piano. He has also played a wide range of music...
, John Edwards, Kay Grant, Gail Brand, Oren Marshall, Ute Wasserman, Pat Thomas, Gino Robair
Gino Robair
Gino Robair is an American composer, improvisor, drummer, and percussionist. In his own work , he plays prepared/modified percussion, analog synthesizer, ebow and prepared piano, theremin, and bowed objects...
, Steve Noble, Terry Day, Alan Tomlinson, Alan Wilkinson, John Coxon
Spring Heel Jack
Spring Heel Jack is an English electronic music group consisting of John Coxon and Ashley Wales.Formed in 1993 in London, England, Spring Heel Jack began their career exploring drum and bass and jungle, but have since branched out into free improvisation and jazz, collaborating with many acclaimed...
, Alex Ward, Martin Speake, Adam Bohman and Max Eastley.
Mopomoso special promotions include an annual Christmas event featuring a large number of improvising musicians playing over the course of an afternoon and evening in various combinations; occasional workshops; and Fete Quaqua where a large pool of musicians is assembled to play in different groupings over the course of three evenings in a similar manner to Derek Bailey’s Company Week
Company (free improvisation group)
Company was an ever changing collection of free improvising musicians. The concept was devised by guitarist Derek Bailey in order to create challenging and artistically stimulating combinations of players who might not otherwise have had an opportunity to work together.At various times Company has...
.
Selected discography
John Russell has performed on over 50 published recordings. Besides those listed, Russell also appears on recordings by Lol Coxhill, Terry Day, Hugh DaviesHugh Davies
Hugh Seymour Davies was a musicologist, composer, and inventor of experimental musical instruments.Davies was born in Exmouth, Devon, England. After attending Westminster School, he studied music at Worcester College, Oxford from 1961 to 1964. Shortly after he traveled to Cologne, Germany to work...
, Günther Christmann, Jon Rose
Jon Rose
Jon Rose is an Australian violinist born in the UK in 1951. Rose began playing violin at age 7 after winning a music scholarship to King's School in Rochester. For over 35 years, Rose has been at the sharp end of new, improvised, and experimental music and media...
, Chris Burns’ Ensemble and various Evan Parker projects as well as a number of CDs of recordings from the "Freedom of the City" festivals. A full discography is maintained at European Free Improvisation Pages.
With various improvising groups
- Teatime (1975), IncusIncusThe incus or anvil is the anvil-shaped small bone or ossicle in themiddle ear. It connects the malleus to the stapes. It was first described by Alessandro Achillini of Bologna.The incus transmits sound vibrations from the malleus to the stapes....
- with Gary Todd, Dave Soloman, Nigel Coombes, and Steve Beresford - Artless Sky (1979), CAW - with Roger Turner and Toshinori KondoToshinori KondoToshinori Kondo is an avant-garde jazz and jazz fusion trumpeter. He resides in Tokyo, New York City, and Amsterdam....
- Vario II (1980), Moers MusicMoers MusicMoers Music is a German jazz record label based in the city of Moers....
– with Maarten Altena, Günter Christmann, Paul LovensPaul LovensPaul Lovens is a musician. He plays drums, percussion, singing saw and various selected and unselected cymbals. He has also performed with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra....
and Maggie Nicols - The Fairly Young Bean (1981), Emanem - with Maarten Altena and Terry Day
- Wild Pathway Favourites (1988), Ladder Rung - with Martin Archer and others
- News from the Shed (1989), Acta - with Butcher/Durrant/Lovens/Malfatti/Russell
- Ohrkiste (1992), ITM Classics – with Radu Malfatti’s Ohrkiste
- London Air Lift (1996), FMPFMP (Free Music Production)Free Music Production is a German record label founded by Jost Gebers, Peter Brötzmann, Peter Kowald, and Alexander von Schlippenbach in 1969, specializing in free improvisation and free jazz, usually by European, often German musicians....
- with Evan Parker, John Edwards, Mark Sanders. - Three Planets (2003), Emanem – with Ute Völker and Mathieu Werchowski.
- The Mercelis Concert (2006), Inaudible – with Jean Demey and Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg.
- Vario-44 (2006), Edition Explico with John Butcher, Roger Turner, Thomas LehnThomas LehnThomas Lehn is a German-born piano and synthesizer player active in free improvisation and contemporary music.Lehn has recorded with Marcus Schmickler, Keith Rowe, John Butcher, Phil Minton, Phil Durrant, Radu Malfatti, Axel Dörner, Cor Fuhler, Gerry Hemingway and is a member of the electronic...
, Dorothea Schürch and Günter Christmann - Analekta (2006), Emanem – in various duos and a nine-piece Quaqua, all recorded at Mopomoso
Solo recordings
- Home Cooking (1978), Incus
- From Next to Last (2002), Emanem
With Butcher/Durrant/Russell
- Conceits (1987), Acta
- Concert Moves (1992), Random Acoustics
- The Scenic Route (1998), Emanem
Roger Turner Duo
- Birthdays (1996), Emanem
- The Second Sky (2001), Emanem
Stefan Keune Duo
- Excerpts and Offerings (2000), Acta
- Frequency of Use (2002), Nurnichtnur
External links
- Artist's website
- Biography and Discography on European Free Improvisation Pages
- Guitarist – John Russell a short film by Helen Petts
- Two figures in a Vortex – Phil Minton and John Russell a short film by Helen Petts
- Acta Records catalogue
- Acta Records (Impetus site)
- mopomoso.com
- Mopomoso concert footage on Youtube
Further reading
- Watson, Ben (June 1997), “Close to the Edge”, The Wire no. 160, pp. 42–43.
- Johnson, Alan (Autumn, 1997), John Russell: acoustic guitarist. Avant, no. 3, p. 25.
- Russell, John (1993) "Somewhere There's Music", Rubberneck 15
- Ferraris, Andrea (November 2008) "Chain D.L.K Presents an Interview with John Russell", Chain D.L.K.
- Grundy, David, (August 2009) "An Interview with John Russell", Eartrip Magazine Issue 4, pp. 26–34