Russell Malone listens to what others say
‘I always try to be open and flexible,’ guitarist says of inspiration sources
It was 20 years ago that guitarist Russell Malone joined Diana Krall’s band, starting a four-year run that included three Grammy-nominated albums and that showcased his talents to audiences worldwide.
But Malone is quick to point out he was already a well-seasoned musician by then, after stints with organist Jimmy Smith, singer Freddie Cole and Harry Connick Jr.’s big band for four years.
“I loved playing with Diana,” he recalled in an interview from his New Jersey home. “But I wouldn’t have been able to play that way if it hadn’t been for everything that came before.”
By then, the Georgia-born guitarist had assimilated a wide range of influences from country legend Chet Atkins to blues masters like B.B. King and Buddy Guy. In the jazz space, George Benson was a beacon.
“What attracted me to George was just the control he had on the instrument,” Malone recalled. “He played so effortlessly and fluidly. There was a sound he got out of that guitar. I saw George when I was 12 and that let me know there was a whole level of excellence to aspire to.”
Malone brings all those influences to Upstairs Thursday and Friday with a quartet comprising Rick Germanson on piano, Luke Sellick on bass and Willie Jones III on drums. He has a warm and relaxed sound but stresses that straight-ahead jazz is only part of what he loves to play.
“I always try to be open and flexible, I don’t turn up my nose at country music or funk like some jazz players do. Everybody’s got something to say.” He mentions several Brazilian guitarists as inspirations and adds that “Eddie Van Halen is great.”
Malone crafted his personal style as a self-taught musician who learned by ear and later refined that knowledge with help from a few masters.
“I didn’t go to music school but I think people make too much out of being self-taught,” he says. “I don’t care how much you learn on your own, at some point you have to admit your shortcomings if you’re going to get better.
“You have to find people who are better than you that can help you. I was fortunate because I was around great musicians who would tell me what I needed to work on, like sight-reading. I’m still working on that and trying to get better.”
He learned other things, too, like how to play with people, how to accompany, knowing what not to play and how to stay out of the way — all things you can’t really pick up on your own.
“I didn’t take any playing experience for granted. I got something valuable from each experience,” he says. Playing with Jimmy Smith, for example, “I got my hide handed to me every night,” he adds with a laugh.
He also likes to rise to the occasion, such as the time he subbed for the great Jim Hall in a tour with fellow guitarist Bill Frisell. It would be hard to find a more unusual pairing given their different musical styles but “we had no problem sitting in,” he says. “We acknowledged we were different players but once we got past that, then we started to focus on what we had in common.”
Malone has what all great jazz musicians possess — an instantly recognizable sound that marks him as a distinctive voice. It’s what so many aspire to but so few attain.
“I like to think that every musician has a sound and a voice,” he says. “You can take the most derivative-sounding player. You can hear all their influences but you can always hear something that is unique to him or her.
“What a lot of us don’t have when we’re young is the confidence to speak with our own voice. It comes down to accepting yourself instead of always trying to fit in,” says Malone. “Nobody else can be you.”