Heartstrings - Music

Russell Malone Born November 8 1963 In Albany Georgia Is An Essentially Self-Taught Swing Jazz Guitarist. He Also Performs In The Bebop And Contemporary Jazz Genres Of Jazz. He Began Working With Jimmy Smith In 1988 And Went On To Work With Harry Connick Jr. And Diana Krall Throughout The 1990's. Malone Played With Jazz Organist Jimmy Smith From 1988—1990. He Then Joined The Harry Connick Jr. Big Band From 1989-1994. In 1995 Malone Became Part Of The Diana Krall Trio Participating In Three Grammy-Nominated Albums The Final One In 1999 "When I Look In Your Eyes " Winning Best Vocal Jazz Performance. In Addition To Touring Regularly As Leader Of The Russell Malone Quartet Russell Malone Can Be Seen In Appearances With Dianne Reeves And Romero Lubambo. He Also Tours Frequently With Ron Carter As Part Of The Golden Striker Trio Often Featuring Mulgrew Miller At Piano. Other Special Guest Appearances Have Included Malone With Bobby Hutcherson Dr. Lonnie Smith And Hank Jones In Celebration Of His 90th Birthday . October 2008 Found Russell Malone In Duo At Yoshi's In Oakland California With Fellow Jazz Guitarist And Grammy-Winner Bill Frisell. The Duo Toured Once Again In February 2009 In The Pacific Northwest. Malone's Two Most Recent MAXJAZZ Releases Are "Live At Jazz Standard Volume One" 2006 And Live At Jazz Standard Volume Two" 2007 . Appearing On These Two Volumes And Touring As The Russell Malone Quartet Are Martin Bejerano On Piano Tassili Bond On Bass And Johnathan Blake On Drums. From Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia 2 An Adept Jazz Guitarist With A Clean Attack And Fluid Lyrical Style Russell Malone Often Plays In A Swinging Straight-Ahead Style Weaving In Elements Of Blues Gospel And R&B. Born In Albany Georgia In 1963 Malone First Began Playing Guitar Around Age Four On A Toy Instrument Quickly Graduating To The Real Thing. Largely Self-Taught He Initially Drew Inspiration Listening To The Recordings Of Gospel And Blues Artists Including The Dixie Hummingbirds And B.B. King. However After Seeing George Benson Perform With Benny Goodman On A Television Show Malone Was Hooked On Jazz And Began Intently Studying Albums By Legendary Guitarists Like Charlie Christian And Wes Montgomery. By His Twenties Malone Was An Accomplished Performer And In 1988 Joined Organist Jimmy Smith's Band. Soon After He Also Became A Member Of Harry Connick Jr.'s Big Band Appearing On Connick's 1991 Effort Blue Light Red Light. With His Growing Reputation As A Sideman Malone Next Caught The Attention Of Pianist/vocalist Diana Krall With Whom He Would Work Throughout Much Of The '90s And 2000s. Also During This Period Malone Appeared With A Bevy Of Name Artists Including Branford Marsalis Benny Green Terell Stafford Ray Brown And Others. As A Solo Artist Malone Made His Debut With 1992's Russell Malone Followed A Year Later By Black Butterfly. In 1999 He Released Sweet Georgia Peach Which Featured A Guest Appearance From Pianist Kenny Barron. Malone Kicked Off The 2000s With Several Albums On Verve Including 2000's Look Who's Here And 2001's Orchestral Jazz-Themed Heartstrings. He Then Moved To Maxjazz For 2004's Playground Featuring A Guest Appearance From Saxophonist Gary Bartz Followed By 2010's Triple Play. Over The Next Several Years Malone Appeared On Albums By Wynton Marsalis Christian McBride And Ron Carter As Well As Krall Bandmate Bassist Ben Wolfe. In 2015 He Returned To Solo Work With The Eclectic Small-Group Album Love Looks Good On You Followed In 2016 By All About Melody Both On HighNote. ~ Matt Collar read less