Pee Wee Russell
Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969) was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet.
Pee Wee Russell | |
|---|---|
Russell in New York, 1946 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Charles Ellsworth Russell |
| Born | March 27, 1906 Maplewood, Missouri, U.S. |
| Origin | Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | February 15, 1969 (aged 62) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, bebop, dixieland, swing, post-bop, free jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Clarinetist, saxophonist, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Clarinet, saxophone |
With a highly individualistic and spontaneous clarinet style that "defied classification", Russell began his career playing traditional jazz, but throughout his career incorporated elements of newer developments such as swing, bebop, and free jazz. Writing in 1961, the poet Philip Larkin commented: "No one familiar with the characteristic excitement of his solos, their lurid, snuffling, asthmatic voicelessness, notes leant on till they split, and sudden passionate intensities, could deny the uniqueness of his contribution to jazz."
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