Hal Russell, NRG Ensemble - The Hal Russell Story (1993)

Tracklist

01. Intro And Fanfare / Toy Parade / Trumpet March / Riverside Jump (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. I Family Jam)
02. Krupa (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. II Scholar And Fan)
03. You're Blasé (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. II Scholar And Fan)
04. Dark Rapture (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. II Scholar And Fan)
05. World Class (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. II Scholar And Fan)
06. Wood Chips (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. III Hit The Road, Hal)
07. My Little Grass Shack (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. III Hit The Road, Hal)
08. O & B (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. III Hit The Road, Hal)
09. For M (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. IV Fast Company)
10. Gloomy Sunday (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. IV Fast Company)
11. Hair Male (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. IV Fast Company)
12. Bossa G (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. IV Fast Company)
13. Mildred (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. IV Fast Company)
14. Dope Music (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. IV Fast Company)
15. 2 x 2 (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. V The Birth Of The Free)
16. Ayler Songs (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. V The Birth Of The Free)
17. Rehcabnettul (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. VI NRG Rising)
18. Steve's Freedom Principle (The Hal Russell Story / Pt. VI NRG Rising)
19. Lady In The Lake (The Hal Russell Story / Encores)
20. Oh Well (The Hal Russell Story / Encores)

Recorded two months after Hal's Bells, it was if Russell knew something and tried to get as much recording as possible done before he died. Sadly, he died a mere five weeks after recording this amazing record. Constructed as an aural autobiography, The Hal Russell Story combines a stream-of-consciousness narrative with some rock-solid jazzified blowing and dissonant free playing. The main body of the piece is made up of numerous short segments, some under a minute, but the ebb and flow of the songs is so smooth and effortless, you'll never realize that you're listening to so many short tracks. As usual, Russell's band the NRG ensemble kicks ass and takes names, blowing with so much intensity and power it's astonishing. Adding to this wonderful (if bittersweet) recording is the inclusion of a rollicking version of the Fleetwood Mac chestnut "Oh Well," which Russell claims he'd never heard before (and I believe him). It would be great if Hal Russell were still around serving up his wonderfully skewed jazz-rock, but this is as wonderful and fitting an epitaph as one could hope for.

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