Today, Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Russell Malone, a technically brilliant jazz guitarist whose tasteful solos and swinging and crisp rhythm accompaniment lent a spark to dozens of great jazz recordings with an impressive list of jazz legends.
Malone was a native of Albany, Georgia and was influenced by recordings of B.B. King, the Dixie Hummingbirds and particularly by George Benson. In his mid-twenties, he spent a couple of years as a sideman with Hammond B3 master Jimmy Smith. After three more years as a sideman with Harry Connick, he landed a gig with singerand pianist Diana Krall that led to his participation in three Grammy-nominated albums. Malone also worked closely with pianist Benny Green and released fifteen albums under his own name as well. Russell Malone passed away at the age of 60 on August 23, 2024 while on tour in Japan.
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