Russell Malone (born November 8, 1963) is an American
jazz guitarist. He began working with
Jimmy Smith in 1988 and went on to work with
Harry Connick Jr. and
Diana Krall throughout the 1990s.[1]
Biography
Malone was born in
Albany, Georgia, United States. He began playing at the age of four with a toy guitar his mother bought him. He was influenced by
B. B. King and
The Dixie Hummingbirds.[2] A significant experience was when he was twelve and saw
George Benson perform on television with
Benny Goodman. He is mostly self-taught.[3][4]
Starting in 1988, he spent two years with
Jimmy Smith, then three with
Harry Connick Jr. In 1995, he became the guitarist for the
Diana Krall Trio,[3] participating in three Grammy-nominated albums, including When I Look in Your Eyes, which won the award for Best Vocal Jazz Performance. Malone was part of pianist
Benny Green's recordings in the late 1990s and 2000: Kaleidoscope (1997), These Are Soulful Days (1999), and Naturally (2000). The two formed a duo and released the live album Jazz at The Bistro in 2003 and the studio album Bluebird in 2004. They toured until 2007.
Malone recorded live on September 9–11, 2005, at
Jazz Standard, New York City, and
Maxjazz documented the performances on the albums 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, were
Martin Bejerano on piano, Tassili Bond on bass, and
Johnathan Blake on drums. Malone's 2010 recording Triple Play (also on Maxjazz) featured David Wong on bass and Montez Coleman on drums. His album, All About Melody featured pianist
Rick Germanson, bassist
Luke Sellick, and drummer
Willie Jones III.[5][6]
Discography
As leader
Russell Malone (Columbia, 1992)
Black Butterfly (Columbia, 1993)
Sweet Georgia Peach (Impulse!, 1998)
Look Who's Here (Verve, 2000)
Heartstrings (Verve, 2001)
Ray Brown/Monty Alexander/Russell Malone (Telarc, 2002)
Jazz at the Bistro with Benny Green (Telarc, 2003)