George Russell is one of the true pioneers of Modern Jazz. He is one of the great composers and theorists in this music and wrote an influential book called "The Lydian Concept of Tonal Organization" which most major musicians have studied and is still used in colleges and music schools today. Here Mr. Russell leads his own band which was together from 1960 to 1964. All the players were versed in Mr. Russell's theories. Russell plays piano and leads Al Kiger on trumpet, David Baker on trombone(who became one of the leading Jazz educators),Dave Young on tenor saxophone, Chuck Israels on bass and the underrated Joe Hunt on drums. Russell arranged all the pieces and composed three himself. We hear one by Baker and one by a Russell student, pianist David Lahm and one by a young lady making her composing debut.....Carla Bley. Even though this music was recorded in 1960 it sounds as modern as today and is a tribute to George Russell's lasting legacy.

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