George Russell Sextet : Live In Bremen And Paris 1964

2008 release containing two previously unreleased 1964 live performances by the splendid George Russell Sextet featuring Thad Jones, Joe Farrell and Al Tootie Heath. George Russell began working outside the United States with his sextet for the first time in the early sixties. He toured Western Europe in 1964 with an unusual line-up of musicians. On this CD, recorded `live' at concerts in Bremen, Germany, and the famous Salle Pleyel in Paris, France, eight extended pieces are featured, of which four are Russell originals and the remainder are adventurous arrangements of the Miles Davis evergreen 'Sippin' at Bells' and two celebrated ballads: Thelonious Monk's '`Round About Midnight' and 'You Are My Sunshine' written by the then governor of Louisiana, Jimmy Burns. This disc contains two quite unusual versions of this famous ditty, which are the only recorded renditions without singer Sheila Jordan. In her place trumpeter Thad Jones is featured, playing brilliantly creative solos in a completely new style. The CD also contains two interesting versions of Russell's 'D.C. Divertimento', written for the recently assassinated president John F. Kennedy. Gambit.