Curley Russell
Dillon "Curley" Russell (19 March 1917 – 3 July 1986) was an American jazz musician, who played bass on many bebop recordings. He was born in New York, United States. He was nicknamed "Curley" for his curly hair. A member of the Tadd Dameron Sextet, he was in demand for his ability to play at the rapid tempos typical of bebop, and appears on several key recordings of the period. He left the music business in the late 1950s. On May 1, 1951, Russell played in the recording session for "Un Poco Loco", composed by American jazz pianist Bud Powell, with Max Roach on drums. Literary critic Harold Bloom included this performance on his short list of the greatest works of twentieth-century American art. According to jazz historian Phil Schaap, the classic bebop tune "Donna Lee", a contrafact on "Back Home Again in Indiana", was named after Curley's daughter. In 2002, she donated her father's bass to the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University. He died of emphysema at Queens General Hospital at the age of 69 in 1986. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 19, 1917 (New York City), Died July 3, 1986 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1951
Roles Represented in DAHR: string bass
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 80783 | 3/30/1951 | I won't cry anymore | Georgie Auld ; The Dave Lambert Singers | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 80784 | 3/30/1951 | Man with the horn | Georgie Auld ; The Dave Lambert Singers | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 80785 | 3/30/1951 | Take me | Georgie Auld ; The Dave Lambert Singers | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 80786 | 3/30/1951 | Be still my heart | Georgie Auld ; The Dave Lambert Singers | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 81034 | 5/18/1951 | Summertime | Georgie Auld | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 81035 | 5/18/1951 | My truly, truly fair | Georgie Auld | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 81036 | 5/18/1951 | I'm a sentimental fool | Georgie Auld | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 81037 | 5/18/1951 | Bill | Georgie Auld | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 81186 | 6/18/1951 | Alarm clock boogie | Bill Darnell ; Georgie Auld Orchestra | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 81187 | 6/18/1951 | You blew out the flame | Bill Darnell ; Georgie Auld Orchestra | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 81188 | 6/18/1951 | The Christmas ball | Bill Darnell ; Georgie Auld Orchestra | instrumentalist, string bass | |||
Decca | 81189 | 6/18/1951 | It ain't snowing outside | Bill Darnell ; Georgie Auld Orchestra | instrumentalist, string bass |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Russell, Curley," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/341553.
Russell, Curley. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/341553.
"Russell, Curley." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Curley Russell
Discogs: Curley Russell
Allmusic: Curley Russell
Grove: Curley Russell
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Russell, Curley - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82003123
Wikidata: Curley Russell - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q956634
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/74039421
MusicBrainz: Curley Russell - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c898870b-b704-4c52-99d5-1899e0d44169
ISNI: 0000 0000 5515 1210 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000055151210
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