Pee Wee Russell stood among jazz’s towering figures despite never developing into a technical virtuoso. His clarinet work stood out for its emotional depth and constant surprises, and although he spent most of his career in ensembles associated with Dixieland, the daring, off-the-cuff lines he created—lines that seemed to reveal his thoughts in real time—resisted easy stylistic labels. He had turned professional by fifteen and first worked in Texas alongside Peck Kelley, where he met Jack Teagarden; two years later he was in St. Louis, jamming with Bix Beiderbecke. After settling in New York in 1927, Russell drew notice through his contributions to Red Nichols’ Five Pennies. During the ensuing freelance years he cut several memorable sides with Billy Banks, pairing in 1932 with Red Allen. Between 1935 and 1937 he doubled on clarinet and tenor in Louis Prima’s band, appearing on numerous recordings and thriving in the partnership.
Once his time with Prima ended, Russell began a long association with Eddie Condon’s loose-knit ensembles that would continue, with occasional interruptions, for three decades. The 1938 sessions he made under Condon’s leadership elevated him to prominence within the traditional Chicago jazz scene. He became a regular, if frequently teased, participant on Condon’s Town Hall Concerts. A near-fatal bout with alcohol in 1950 was followed by a surprising recovery; thereafter Russell took firmer control of his professional path. He formed his own bands, which leaned more toward swing than Dixieland, appeared as a featured performer on the 1957 television broadcast The Sound of Jazz, and, by the early sixties, led a piano-less quartet with valve trombonist Marshall Brown that drew on material by John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. That same period found him sitting in with Thelonious Monk at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival and beginning to explore abstract painting. Following the death of his wife in 1967, however, Russell resumed heavy drinking and declined rapidly, dying less than two years afterward.
