Charles Ellsworth Russell (27 March 1906 – 15 Feb 1969), was a jazz musician. He started his career playing clarinet and saxophones. However, he eventually specialized in clarinet. Russell was born in Maplewood in Missouri and grew to be a musician in Muskogee in Oklahoma. His father took Ellsworth to a dance by The Louisiana Five, a New Orleans jazz clarinetist Alcide Nunez. It was Muskogee in 1919. Russell was astonished by Nunez’s improvisations. Pee Wee had always wanted to be a musician, but the incident made him decide that the clarinet would be his primary instrument and jazz would be his preferred music. Pee Wee’s family moved to St. Louis in 1920. Then, he enrolled at the Western Military Academy, Alton, Illinois. He also played clarinet in various jazz and dance bands. In 1922, he began to tour professionally and traveled extensively with tent shows and riverboats. Russel made his recording debut in 1924 in St. Louis with Herb Berger’s Band. He then moved to Chicago, where he started playing with notables like Frankie Trumbauer or Bix Beiderbecke. Russell’s unique style has been evident since his beginnings. His notes were unorthodox compared to those of his contemporaries and he was often accused of playing out-of tune. Although he was often called a dixieland singer by the company he kept in mind, he preferred to ignore any label. He joined Jean Goldkette’s group in 1926 and moved to New York City the next year to join Red Nichols. Russell was a freelance recording studio worker while he was with Nichols’ band. He played clarinet, clarinet and alto clarinets, as well as tenor and bass clarinets. After working with several bandleaders, including Louis Prima, Russell began a series residences at Nick’s Jazz Club in Greenwich Village in Manhattan in 1937. He began his career with Bobby Hackett’s large band, and he continued to work with Eddie Condon for the majority of his adult life. Russell’s health was poor from the 1940s to 1951. He also suffered from alcoholism, which made it worse. There were times when he couldn’t play. Art Hodes, Muggsy Espar, and sometimes bands under his own name were some of the many musicians he played with. Russell played regularly at jazz festivals and international tours that George Wein organized in his last ten years. He also appeared with Thelonious Monk at Newport Festival 1963. This meeting has a mixed reputation. Russell formed a group with Marshall Brown, a valve trombone player. He also included Ornette Coleman songs in his repertoire. Russell’s unconventional, sometimes criticized, approach was praised and cited as an early example for free jazz. Coleman Hawkins, who believed Russell to be colorblind at the 1961 Jazz Reunion record date (Candid), dismissed any notion that Russell was playing modern jazz, saying that he’d always played this way. Mary, Russell’s wife, had encouraged him to take up abstract painting as a hobby. He was severely affected by Mary’s suicide in 1967. His final gig was at the inaugural ball of President Richard Nixon, 21 January 1969. Russell was pronounced dead in Alexandria, Virginia. Russell’s brilliant improvisations, when he was at his best, will always be an inspiration for jazz clarinetists to come. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
