The Pee Wee Russell Quartet's 'New Groove'

This weekend I thought I’d publish something a little different that I wrote a while back as I finish a longer piece I’m working on. Today I’m highlighting a record that tends to fly under the radar, Pee Wee Russell’s 1963 quartet recording “New Groove”. Enjoy!

When jazz fans hear the name Pee Wee Russell they often think of the eccentric clarinetist who played with Bix Beiderbecke, Bobby Hackett, Red Nichols, Eddie Condon and others associated with the “Chicago School” of the late 1920s and 30s. To stop there would do a disservice to Russell and his miraculous, enigmatic, and wholly individual approach to jazz clarinet. By the 1960’s Russell was well into his 50s and broke away from his previous stylistic box by forming a chordless quartet with valve trombonist Marshall Brown. This group eschewed the standards of his Condon-era heyday such as ‘Royal Garden Blues' and ‘Muskrat Ramble’ for the compositions of Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk and others. This was a seemingly radical departure for a well established elder statesman of the pre-bebop jazz scene but it proved to be a fertile environment to showcase his distinct approach to improvisation.

Throughout his career Russell employed a wide range of timbral, melodic, and harmonic devices that gave his playing an otherworldly and unpredictable quality that set him apart from his peers. On the quartet’s first album ‘New Groove’ their rendition of Eric Dolphy’s ‘Red Planet’ gives Pee Wee an opportunity to deploy gestural, fluttering lines, filled with trills, bends, and scoops that create the impression of a sonic painter more so than a jazz purist focused on playing lines or changes. There is a sort of kinship between Russell’s and Dolphy’s instrumental approach, both men were firmly rooted in their respective areas of the tradition yet they were both unflinching avant-gardists whose playing was often unpredictable and dramatic. Each was deeply progressive for their time and place. Standing opposite Russell was Marshall Brown, whose warm, swinging, trombone is a solid fold to Russell’s warm, woody, and sometimes strident clarinet sound. The two create a balanced, intimate ensemble sound that centers the adventurous, interactive improvisations recalling both Russell’s traditional jazz roots as well as modern chordless bands of the day such as the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, who are considered the pioneers of this style of chordless format. The rhythm section of Russell George and Ron Lundberg on bass and drums respectively provide capable accompaniment but at times comes across a little safe and pedestrian. One can only imagine what Pee Wee Russell would have sounded like in the company of young radicals such as Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell.

Besides ‘Red Planet’ some standout tracks include Abel Baer’s ‘My Mother’s Eyes’ and Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight’. This group recorded again a few years later which produced ‘Ask Me Now!’ which was released in 1966 where they tackle more tunes by Monk, ‘Some Other Blues’ by John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman’s ‘Turnaround’ among others. By most accounts this second outing is considered to be the more consequential recording by the group and while it is certainly bolder in some ways there is something charming about ‘New Groove’ that puts it on top for me. The Pee Wee Russell Quartet:

Pee Wee Russell - Clarinet

Marshall Brown - Valve Trombone

Russell George - Bass

Ron Lundberg - Drums

Discography:

New Groove (1963, Columbia Records)

Ask Me Now! (1966, Impulse! Records)