Ross Russell
Encyclopedia
Ross Russell was an American jazz
producer and author. He was the founder of Dial Records
.
Russell wrote pulp fiction
in the 1930s. His heroes were Dashiell Hammett and, especially, Raymond Chandler, on whom he wrote an unfinished study. He also worked as a reporter, at one point writing on Luis Russell
while on tour. He was in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II
. He served in the North Atlantic and was shipwrecked on Nova Zemlaya far above the Arctic Circle. His accounts of this episode appeared in Life Magazine and two other periodicals. Later, he had long duty in the South Pacific. After the War he set up his own record store, the Tempo Music Shop, in Hollywood. In 1946 he founded Dial Records in order to record Charlie Parker
, who was in Los Angeles at the time. He also recorded Dizzy Gillespie
, Erroll Garner
, Howard McGhee
, Dodo Marmarosa
, Dexter Gordon
, Wardell Gray
and Earl Coleman. Russell saved all of the alternate takes he did, which made vault releases of his material particularly rich for jazz aficionados. Dial also was the first record company in the US to record the music of Arnold Schoenberg and other modern European masters. He shut Dial down in 1949 and spent several years away from jazz music as owner of a golf course and other pursuits.
Russell's jazz novel
The Sound, a book inspired by Parker's life' came out in 1961. In 1971, he published a nonfiction book, Jazz Style in Kansas City and the Southwest, and two years later his biography
Bird Lives! was published. Bird Lives! was criticized for its factual inaccuracies; some of the details Russell relates were shown to be fictional. Russell also wrote articles for jazz magazines and taught at the University of California
and Palomar College
. His large collection of records, books, periodicals, manuscripts, correspondence, interviews, and other materials was sold to the Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
in 1981. After retirement he lived variously in the California desert, South Africa, Spain, and Niland, California, on the Salton Sea. He was writing another book on bebop
at the time of his death in 2000. He was married five times and left four children.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
producer and author. He was the founder of Dial Records
Dial Records (1946)
Dial Records was a United States based record label specializing in bebop jazz. Dial was founded by Ross Russell in 1946, who operated the label for about a decade. Notable artists who recorded for Dial included Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Max Roach, and Milt Jackson...
.
Russell wrote pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
in the 1930s. His heroes were Dashiell Hammett and, especially, Raymond Chandler, on whom he wrote an unfinished study. He also worked as a reporter, at one point writing on Luis Russell
Luis Russell
Luis Russell was a jazz pianist and bandleader.Luis Carl Russell was born on Careening Cay, near Bocas del Toro, Panama, in a family of Afro-Caribbean ancestry. His father was a music teacher, and young Luis learned to play violin, guitar, trombone, and piano...
while on tour. He was in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He served in the North Atlantic and was shipwrecked on Nova Zemlaya far above the Arctic Circle. His accounts of this episode appeared in Life Magazine and two other periodicals. Later, he had long duty in the South Pacific. After the War he set up his own record store, the Tempo Music Shop, in Hollywood. In 1946 he founded Dial Records in order to record Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, who was in Los Angeles at the time. He also recorded Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Erroll Garner
Erroll Garner
Erroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard...
, Howard McGhee
Howard McGhee
Howard McGhee was one of the very first bebop jazz trumpeters, together with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for lightning-fast fingers and very high notes...
, Dodo Marmarosa
Dodo Marmarosa
Michael "Dodo" Marmarosa was an American bebop pianist.-Biography:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a child prodigy, Marmarosa was a trained classical pianist, but familiarised himself with jazz in parallel and practised with school mate Erroll Garner, another pianist from Pittsburgh...
, Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
, Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray
Wardell Gray was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods.Today often overlooked, Gray's playing displays a unique style, an unmatched tone and a strong presence.-Early years:...
and Earl Coleman. Russell saved all of the alternate takes he did, which made vault releases of his material particularly rich for jazz aficionados. Dial also was the first record company in the US to record the music of Arnold Schoenberg and other modern European masters. He shut Dial down in 1949 and spent several years away from jazz music as owner of a golf course and other pursuits.
Russell's jazz novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Sound, a book inspired by Parker's life' came out in 1961. In 1971, he published a nonfiction book, Jazz Style in Kansas City and the Southwest, and two years later his biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
Bird Lives! was published. Bird Lives! was criticized for its factual inaccuracies; some of the details Russell relates were shown to be fictional. Russell also wrote articles for jazz magazines and taught at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
and Palomar College
Palomar College
Palomar College is a community college with one campus and six education sites in San Diego County, California. The main campus is located in San Marcos, while the six education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County. The largest of these is the education center located in...
. His large collection of records, books, periodicals, manuscripts, correspondence, interviews, and other materials was sold to the Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
in 1981. After retirement he lived variously in the California desert, South Africa, Spain, and Niland, California, on the Salton Sea. He was writing another book on bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
at the time of his death in 2000. He was married five times and left four children.