- Ann Nessa
- Hal Russell
Some of my greatest experiences with live music came courtesy of the eccentric multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Hal Russell, whose work with his NRG Ensemble brought gonzo wit, fierce improvisation, and boundless energy to performance after performance. During the late 80s and early 90s, the group was a fixture at the great subterranean bar Lower Links, playing madcap sets that generated laughter as much as awe. As an observer of the local free-jazz and improvised-music scene, I feel Russell’s importance to what came in his wake over the last couple of decades is undiminished. Not only did folks like Mars Williams, Steve Hunt, Kent Kessler, Brian Sandstrom, and Ken Vandermark work alongside him, but Russell’s wry sensibility, fearlessness, and refusal to take himself too seriously provided a crucial creative template for what was to come. Russell suffered a fatal heart attack in September 1992—he was 66—in the midst of gaining well-deserved, criminally belated international recognition after he signed with ECM Records in 1991, which released three terrific, idiosyncratic albums by him.
Today’s playlist:
