Curly Russell
Acoustic Bass Solo on
Wee-Dot

About

Curly Russell closes out the solos on acoustic bass with two choruses, following Horace Silver at approximately 295 BPM. Set within a swinging rhythmic framework, the 12-bar Blues form and the key of B♭, the solo tests the player's command at high velocity. Coming last in the solo order, Russell has the task of building on everything that came before while steering the performance back toward the closing head. As an alternate take, this performance offers a fascinating comparison to the version on Vol. 2, revealing how the same musicians approached identical material with fresh ideas on different nights.

Curly Russell was 36 to 37 years old at the time.