George Russell Sextet in KC

George Russell was at a creative peak in the early '60s as he recorded one memorable small-group session after another. The pianist and composer wrote only one of the six songs on this 1961 session, while tackling two imaginative charts (the turbulent "War Gewessen" and the amusing Latin-flavored "Lunacy") by the young trombonist Dave Baker, who was a student of Russell's and would later become an important jazz educator in his own right. Carla Bley, who had also studied with Russell, composed "Rhymes," whose initial vamp suggests Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments," though the haunting unison theme by Baker and trumpeter Don Ellis takes it in a completely different direction. The leader's scoring of Clifford Brown's "Sandu" allows plenty of blowing space for the band, with a typically economical piano solo by Russell. His heated arrangement of Miles Davis' "Tune Up" is simply spectacular. Liner note writer Leonard Feather hilariously describes Russell's "Theme" as "Every Man for Himself in F Minor." This rewarding Decca LP has long been unavailable and expect to pay a premium price if you are fortunate enough to run across a copy of it.