[Dixielandjazz] Jonathan Russell

[Stephen G Barbone]

Just spend two days gigging with 15 year old jazz violinist Jonathan  
Russell as our featured guest. This young man is absolutely  
incredible. I guess all that hanging out with Wynton Marsalis the LCJB  
and Barry Harris is rubbing off.

No longer just a prodigy, he should now be judged as a jazz musician  
alongside anyone on the jazz scene today.

Among other things, we featured him alone with the rhythm section and  
told the audience this is how he would sound with his own quartet. He  
then took off on an up tempo version of Caravan which knocked  
everyone's socks off.

He is clearly an accomplished musician in his own right, and has  
progressed harmonically way beyond most of today's jazz musicians.

WOW!!!!! You should have heard him.

Better yet, hire him quickly as he is studying composing and film  
scoring and may well leave the performing scene in a few years so that  
he can earn a good living. Hard to disagree with that as so many  
excellent performing jazz musicians are still starving artists.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband