George
Russell
Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Emeritus
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George Russell is a hugely influential, innovative figure in the evolution of modern jazz, one of its greatest composers, and its most important theorist. His 1953 book The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization is credited as a great pathbreaker into modal music, as pioneered by Miles Davis and John Coltrane. His second volume on the Lydian Concept, The Art and Science of Tonal Gravity, was published in 2001. All of the music’s most important developments—from modal improvisation to electronics, African polyrhythms to free form, atonality to jazz rock—have taken cues from Russell’s pioneering work. His Living Time Orchestra performs throughout the world, including the Barbican Centre and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the Festival d’Automne and Cîté de la Musique in Paris, and Tokyo Music Joy. His career as a leader includes more than 30 recordings, working with such musicians as Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, and Jan Garbarek. Among his awards are a MacArthur Fellowship, the NEA American Jazz Master Award, two Guggenheim Fellowships, six NEA grants, three Grammy nominations, the American Music Award, the British Jazz Award, the Kennedy Center Living Jazz Legend Award, the Swedish Jazz Federation Lifetime Achievement Award, and election to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. His commissions include the British Council, Swedish Broadcasting, the Glasgow International Festival, the Barbican Centre, and the Massachusetts Council on the Arts. He has taught throughout the world, and has been guest conductor for Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, German, and Italian radio. Russell has been the subject of documentaries by NPR, NHK Japan, Swedish Broadcasting, and the BBC.
Listen to an episode of WGBH's "Jazz Portraits" with George Russell.
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updated 8 May 2008