John Russell

 
John Russell (1954-2021) got his first guitar in 1965 while living in Kent and began to play in and around London from 1971 onwards. An early involvement with the emerging free improvisation scene (from 1972) followed, seeing him play in such places as The Little Theatre Club, Ronnie Scott's, The Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Musicians' Co-Op and the London Musicians' Collective. From 1974 his work extended into teaching, broadcasts (radio and television) and touring in the United Kingdom and, ever extensively, in other countries around the world. He has played with many of the world's leading improvisers and his work can be heard on over 50 CDs and albums. In 1981, he founded QUAQUA, a large bank of improvisers put together in different combinations for specific projects and, in 1991, he started MOPOMOSO which has become the UK's longest running concert series featuring mainly improvised music.

(external link : www.john-russell.co.uk)
 
John Russell - The Cigar That Talks (CD)
2010
PiedNu
The Cigar That Talks, recorded by the trio of Michel Doneda, soprano and sopranino saxophones, John Russell, acoustic guitar and Roger Turner, drums and percussion, is an album of radical improvisation where copper, wood and steel become music by the only miracle of a perfect interaction seized on the spot.


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