Pryso, thank you for bringing up George Russell. Russell generated a fair amount of discussion here (and controversy....probably why I didn’t comment earlier) a while ago and in that context the only earlier mention of Don Ellis. I point this out only as a point of interest; he (and Don Ellis) is certainly worthy of more discussion. Don Ellis was a member of both some of his large and small ensemble projects.
George Russell was one of the most important figures in modern jazz. As a theorist, his "Lydian Chromatic Concept Of Tonal Organization" was and is a hugely important jazz theory concept (and book) which influenced many modern jazz players including Miles and Coltrane particularly in their ground breaking moves toward "modal" jazz. On this thread there has sometimes been a very mistaken notion and even aversion to the idea that many (probably most) of the most prominent jazz players have actively, and very extensively, studied and used ideas and "formal" concepts about harmony in developing their compositions and improvisation styles. I mention this only to stress just how important Russell’s ideas were and how much that sort of thing is an integral part of this great music. The idea that jazz players simply put the horn up to their lips and blow and magic happens is simply not how it all works. It is ultimately a combination of talent, creativity combined with serious study and understanding of harmony and music theory and, yes, magic. George Russell’s ideas were and remain hugely important. Interesting reading:
http://www.georgerussell.com/lc.htmlNice "So What". Very funky; thanks for that. Love how he doesn’t use the melody of the tune and instead uses Miles’ very solo from Miles’ classic recording of the tune in the ensemble passages. Great soprano solo. Some of my favorite George Russell are his small ensemble recordings. This one featuring Don Ellis and Eric Dolphy is particularly interesting, imo:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8-PHjNNfEy4