Doing Fine by Pee Wee Russell

During the last dozen years of his life before passing away in 1969, clarinetist Pee Wee Russell recorded and performed in a variety of surprisingly modern settings. It was not that Russell was not modern himself, for his eccentric style had long been quite distinctive, but he had previously been content to mostly play in freewheeling Dixieland bands.

The small-group swing set has basic arrangements from pianist Nat Pierce, quiet support from bassist Tommy Potter and drummer Karl Kiffe, and Russell is joined by three of his favorite horn players (trumpeter Ruby Braff, trombonist Vic Dickenson, and tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman). One can fully understand why the clarinetist was quite pleased with this music. His playing is much more consistent and comfortable on the mid-tempo material than usual and he mostly gets to avoid the overly hyper Dixieland warhorses. A gem.

In 1962, clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, began teaming up with valve trombonist/bass trumpeter Marshall Brown in more modern settings. Utilizing a pianoless quartet, Russell performed music that was a little reminiscent of Gerry Mulligan and often incorporated surprisingly modern songs. On this intriguing set, Russell, Brown, bassist Russell George, and drummer Ron Lundberg perform such songs as "Chelsea Bridge," "Moten Swing," "Good Bait," "'Round Midnight," and even John Coltrane's "Red Planet.“

Tenor-saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and clarinetist Pee Wee Russell revisit "If I Could Be with You," a song they had recorded together in a classic version back in 1929. Russell was beginning to perform much more modern material than the Dixieland music associated with the Eddie Condon players and on this set (which also features trumpeter Emmett Berry, valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, pianist Nat Pierce, bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Jo Jones), he plays a couple of Duke Ellington tunes, two originals and "Tin Tin Deo." Hawkins is also in fine form and this somewhat surprising program is quite successful.

AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow

Pee Wee Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969), was an American jazz musician.
With a highly individualistic and spontaneous clarinet style that "defied classification", Russell began his career playing Dixieland jazz, but moved further with swing, and bebop.
Russell's unique and sometimes derided approach was praised as ahead of its time, and cited by some as an early example of free jazz.