Like much of the jazz community, I’m at a loss upon hearing of the sudden passing of Russell Malone. A beacon of joy on and off the bandstand, he was also one of the baddest guitarists of any generation, able to play with remarkable sensitivity and support yet equally able to rip it up on a gutbucket blues or a burning fast bebop tune (or, really, anything I ever heard him attempt). I find it particularly fascinating how often he was called upon to play in drum-less environments, whether in duos or “King Cole style” piano/bass/guitar trios, all to me indicative of the unshakably solid sense of rhythm that underpins so much of his work.

In the interest of expediency, I threw this writing together quickly, knowing I could easily obsess for months. Because his transition is so surprising and bewildering, I’m going to go in reverse chronological order this time around – there are many great performances omitted (on records by Jimmy Heath, Diana Krall, Harry Connick, Jr., David Sanborn, Ray Brown, Roy Hargrove, Dianne Reeves, Ben Wolfe, Steve Turre, and many others) but here are a few that have particularly knocked me out and that will hopefully provide some joy and comfort to those also reconciling the loss as well as a point of entry for those less familiar with his immense contributions – safe passage, maestro.

1 ) “Verdad Amarga” from Duo by Claudia Acuna (2021)

Russell was a wonderful accompanist for vocalists, and I particularly enjoy hearing him do so in intimate formats like this achingly beautiful duet.

2 ) “Theme from Chico and the Man” from Time for the Dancers (2017)

Whether mellow or intense, Russell sounded great on Latin tunes, as demonstrated on this performance of José Feliciano’s fun 1970s TV theme.

3 ) “Laverne Walk” from Golden Striker (Live at Theaterstübchen, Kassel) by Ron Carter (2016)

Russell is now reunited with the other third of Ron Carter’s original “Golden Striker Trio,” pianist Mulgrew Miller. When Mulgrew passed on, Donald Vega capably took over the exalted chair for this iteration of the trio, and they are heard in full bloom on this performance of an Oscar Pettiford classic.

4 ) “Sweet Georgia Peach” from Triple Play (2010)

I love hearing Russell play over funk-based grooves, and here we hear him do so over the late Montez Coleman’s funky backbeat on a re-recording of the title track to one of my favorite 1990s records of Russell’s.

5 ) “For the Love of You” from Live at Jazz Standard, Vol. 2 (2005)

As with item #2 above, Russell had a way with making any tune sound like it belonged in a jazz format, and with the great rhythm section of Martin Bejerano, Tassili Bond, and Johnathan Blake, we get over nine minutes of swinging like crazy on this Isley Brothers favorite.

6 ) “Playground” from Playground (2003)

If this song had words, I’m convinced it could be a hit R&B song. Maybe someday? In the meantime it’s an eternal delight hearing him deliver the soulful melody and a perfectly melodic solo over the slick and harmonically rich backing of Bejerano, Bond, and E.J. Strickland.

7 ) “Move” from For Hamp, Red, Bags, and Cal by Gary Burton (2000)

This is one of three great tracks from the “Red” part, which is to say featuring Russell and Christian McBride playing the roles of Tal Farlow and Charles Mingus as Burton pays tribute to Red Norvo. Indeed, I can think of few guitarists equally suited to burning this effortlessly.

8 ) “Bright Mississippi” from Sweet Georgia Peach (1998)

This track demonstrates both Russell’s knack for interpreting Thelonious Monk’s compositions and his sensitive and interactive approach to instrumental duo playing, here alongside Kenny Barron (if you can’t get enough, check out their duo version of “And Then Again” from Kenny’s Spirit Song album recorded the following year)

9 ) “My Girl Bill” from Kaleidoscope by Benny Green (1995)

I could have easily populated this whole list with drum-less yet hard-grooving performances. This, another recontextualized pop hit from the 1970s, is the only track on this record in that instrumentation (featuring Ron Carter on bass) and is the first example of Russell doing this with pianist Benny Green (another player more versatile than the “straight-ahead” label suggests), something they would go on to do for multiple subsequent albums Benny doing that together.  

10 ) “Flowers for Emmett Till” from Russell Malone (1992)

An appropriately somber way to wrap up this list, here we get to hear Russell’s mastery of understated solo guitar (here on the nylon string) and his capacity and willingness to put flashy chops aside to make a potent and emotionally direct statement.