Pee Wee Russell
Pee Wee Russell, although never a virtuoso, was one of the giants of jazz. A highly expressive and unpredictable clarinetist, Russell was usually grouped in Dixieland-type groups throughout his career, but his advanced and spontaneous solos (which often sounded as if he were thinking aloud) defied classification. A professional by the time he was 15, Pee Wee Russell played in Texas with Peck Kelley's group (meeting Jack Teagarden) and then in 1925 he was in St. Louis jamming with Bix Beiderbecke. Russell moved to New York in 1927 and gained some attention for his playing with Red Nichols' Five Pennies. Russell freelanced during the era, making some notable records with Billy Banks in 1932 that matched him with Red Allen. He played clarinet and tenor with Louis Prima during 1935-1937, appearing on many records and enjoying the association.
After leaving Prima, he started working with Eddie Condon's freewheeling groups and would remain in Condon's orbit on and off for the next 30 years. Pee Wee Russell's recordings with Condon in 1938 made him a star in the trad Chicago jazz world. Russell was featured (but often the butt of jokes) on Condon's Town Hall Concerts. Heavy drinking almost killed him in 1950, but Russell made an unlikely comeback and became more assertive in running his career. He started leading his own groups (which were more swing- than Dixieland-oriented), was a star on the 1957 television special The Sound of Jazz, and by the early '60s was playing in a piano-less quartet with valve trombonist Marshall Brown whose repertoire included tunes by John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman; he even sat in with Thelonious Monk at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival and took up abstract painting. But after the death of his wife in 1967, Pee Wee Russell accelerated his drinking and went quickly downhill, passing away less than two years later.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Jazz Reunion (Remastered)
Pee Wee Russell, Coleman Hawkins
Jazz - Released by Candid on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Anthology (Original Recordings)
Jazz - Released by Miradas Records on 24 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pee Wee Russell with Alex Welsh & His Band
Pee Wee Russell, Alex Welsh & His Band
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Lake Records on 19 Nov 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pee Wee Russell with the Alex Welsh Band
Pee Wee Russell, The Alex Welsh Band
Jazz - Released by Jazzology on 6 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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New Groove
Traditional Jazz & New Orleans - Released by Legacy Recordings on 1 Dec 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Portrait Of Pee Wee
Jazz - Released by Everest Records on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Spirit Of '67 (Album Version)
Pee Wee Russell, Oliver Nelson & His Orchestra
Jazz - Released by Verve Reissues on 1 Jan 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jam Session In Swingville (Album Version)
Coleman Hawkins, Pee Wee Russell
Jazz - Released by Prestige on 1 Jan 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pee Wee Russell
Jazz - Released by Archive of Folk & Jazz Music on 7 Nov 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Pee Wee Russell Plays
Jazz - Released by Lone Hill Jazz on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The College Concert (Live at M.I.T./ 1966)
Jazz - Released by Verve Reissues on 1 Jan 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Reunion
Pee Wee Russell, Coleman Hawkins
Jazz - Released by Blue Pie Records USA on 1 Jan 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pee Wee Russell: Ask Me Now!
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 23 Feb 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pee Wee Russell, Pee Wee' S Combos
Jazz - Released by Lucas RecordsDigital on 8 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of
Dixieland - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Reunion
Pee Wee Russell, Coleman Hawkins
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 1 Jan 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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We're In The Money (Pee Wee Russell)
Jazz - Released by 1201 MUSIC on 1 Oct 1954
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Box (The Jazz Series)
Jazz - Released by Two Bass Hits on 24 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo