Time for a Little tribute to jazz
April 14th, 2008, 5:19 am Teen Hobbies
The concept for Russ Little’s new album On the Shoulders of Giants is right out of jazz tradition %26ndash; a collection of compositions by the genre’s masters %26ndash; but its title was inspired by science.For the disc that includes interpretations of Duke Ellington, Benny Golson and Thelonious Monk gems, the trombonist recalled a 1675 quote from Isaac Newton: %26#34;If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.%26#34; %26#34;The obvious names (for the record) were Homage or Tribute, but that’s been done,%26#34; explained Little, whose CD release show takes place Tuesday at Quotes on King St. W.S.The 66-year-old Toronto native has had no shortage of mentors. First, there was George McRae, the music teacher at Malvern Collegiate who introduced him to his life’s passion. %26#34;He said: `You’re the tallest guy in class, you play trombone;’ and that was it,%26#34; remembered the 6-foot-2 Little. Today, McRae, 81 %26ndash; who helmed the school’s music department for 37 years %26ndash; can still recall the %26#34;amazing technique%26#34; Little began developing by Grade 11.%26#34;Performing rapid passages on trombone is extremely difficult, but Russ mastered that at a very early stage,%26#34; he said in a phone interview. %26#34;And his tone was exceptional.%26#34;Then there was acclaimed trombonist Teddy Roderman who sought out the preternaturally gifted teen he’d heard about. %26#34;This giant in music in Canada would pull up to my little crappy house in his Cadillac,%26#34; reminisced Little in his expansive Oakville living room. %26#34;He gave me moral support. According to other people, he was not always the most approachable, but to me he was the sweetest, most giving guy.%26#34; After graduating from the University of Toronto, Little was tapped to join Woody Herman’s band in Chicago. He credits that 18-month gig and a shorter stint in the Count Basie Orchestra for honing his skills.%26#34;Canadian musicians tend to be well-schooled sight readers,%26#34; he explained. %26#34;But that’s also a problem, because there’s the sense that once you’ve rehearsed it there’s no need to go any further. It’s not enough to play notes correctly, the band needs constant unremitting rehearsal to get tight, tight, tight.%26#34;Despite his promising start, after Little got off the road with Basie, he landed a gig as a TV talk-show bandleader and wound up working the next 30 years as a conductor, composer, arranger and session musician. %26#34;I was caught up making a living,%26#34; said the married father of two children. %26#34;I was perfectly happy being under the radar.%26#34;When technology made the TV music industry less lucrative, Little started a recording career. He cut his first album Snapshot in 2005, and 2007 brought Footwork. He said he loves the process: “Making an album allows for a barrage of self-scrutiny, which has improved me as a player. And all of a sudden I’m getting a lot more jazz gigs.%26#34; Little’s natural exuberance translates unto the sparkling album that features local musicians, as well as legendary Duke Ellington Orchestra bassist 84-year-old John Lamb.The arrangements by drummer Brian Barlow are mainly in the high-spirited bop milleu, save a reggae take on Horace Silver’s %26#34;Song For My Father.%26#34; That’s a nod to Little’s maternal homeland, as well as a reflection of the versatility he thinks young players should aspire to.%26#34;I play in rock bands, I play bar mitzvahs, I play in country and western bands … just last week I backed Gladys Knight (at a casino). When you do a breadth of work it informs what you do in jazz. I don’t believe you’re in a position to call yourself a complete musician if you just do one thing. %26#34;You may not like country and western, but that’s not selling out, it’s making a living.%26#34;
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