The Hal Russell Story
| The Hal Russell Story | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1993 | |||
| Recorded | July 1992 at Hardstudios, Winterthur | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 73:13 | |||
| Label | ECM ECM 1498 | |||
| Producer | Steve Lake | |||
| Hal Russell chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Hal Russell Story is the final album by American avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell recorded in Switzerland in 1992 and released on the ECM label in 1993.[1][2]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Down Beat | [4] |
The Allmusic review awarded the album 4 stars stating "It would be great if Hal Russell were still around serving up his wonderfully skewed jazz-rock, but this is as wonderful and fitting an epitaph as one could hope for".[3]
The Down Beat review by Bill Shoemaker says that "Russell's circuitous route to Haldom is recounted here as a gloriously kaleidoscopic sound experience waxed just five weeks before his death."[4]
Track listing
All compositions by Hal Russell except as indicated
- "Intro and Fanfare/Toy Parade/Trumpet March/Riverside Jump" - 5:22
- "Krupa" - 5:36
- "You're Blasé" - 1:51
- "Dark Rapture" (Benny Goodman, Manny Kurtz, Edgar Sampson) - 2:44
- "World Class" - 2:25
- "Wood Chips" - 2:31
- "My Little Grass Shack" (Bill Cogswell, Tommy Harrison, Johnny Noble) - 2:36
- "O & B" - 3:44
- "For M" - 6:17
- "Gloomy Sunday" (Rezső Seress) - 2:31
- "Hair Male" - 3:13
- "Bossa G" - 0:38
- "Mildred" - 1:07
- "Dope Music" - 1:44
- "The 2 x 2" - 3:13
- "The Ayler Songs" - 5:53
- "Rehcabnettul" - 4:05
- "Steve's Freedom Principle" - 5:33
- "Lady in the Lake" (Kent Kessler) - 3:31
- "Oh Well" (Peter Green) - 2:39
Personnel
- Hal Russell - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, trumpet, xylophone, drums, percussion, gong, narrator, vocals
- Mars Williams - tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, bass saxophone, toy horns, wood flute, didgeridoo, bells, sounds, narrator
- Brian Sandstrom - bass, trumpet, electric guitar, toy horns, percussion
- Kent Kessler - bass, trombone
- Steve Hunt -- drums, vibraphone, timpani, percussion
References
- ^ ECM discography accessed May 5, 2014
- ^ ECM catalogue accessed May 5, 2014
- ^ a b Allmusic Review accessed May 5, 2014
- ^ a b Shoemaker, Bill. The Hal Russell Story review. Down Beat September 95: page 46. Print.
