Ray Russell (musician)

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Ray Russell
Ray Russell - Cinque Ports.jpg
Russell performing in 2004
Background information
Birth nameRaymond Russell
Born (1947-04-04) April 4, 1947 (age 78)
Islington, North London, England
Genres Jazz rock
Occupations
  • Musician
  • composer
  • educator
  • TV producer
  • film producer
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1963–present
Labels
Website rayrussell.co.uk

Raymond Russell is an English session musician and experimental jazz rock guitarist. He is also a record producer and composer. [1] [2] Russell made his professional debut as Vic Flick's replacement as lead guitarist in the John Barry Seven.

Contents

Session guitarist

In 1973 he was a member of the band Mouse, which released a progressive rock album entitled Lady Killer for the Sovereign record label.[ citation needed ]

Composition in TV/film

In 1963, Russell assumed Vic Flick's position as lead guitarist of the John Barry Seven. He played on the soundtracks for James Bond films - Moonraker, [3] You only live twice, Octopussy, [4] Thunderball, [4] Live and let die, The man with the Golden Gun, and The spy who loved me.[ citation needed ] Russell was later employed by George Harrison's company HandMade Films and played for the film scores of Monty Python's Life of Brian , Water and Time Bandits . [5]

Russell's TV compositions have included A Touch of Frost , for which he won a Royal society Television Award, [6] Bergerac , Plain Jane , A Bit of a Do , Rich Tea and Sympathy , The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries , Dangerfield and Grafters , as well as The Murder of Meredith Kercher and BBC's Hooded Men. He also played in the DVD Simon Phillips Returns with Simon Phillips and Anthony Jackson.[ citation needed ]

Russell was composer for British TV Detective series A Touch of Frost - series 6-15 between 1999-2010.6 [1] He released an album A Touch of FrostT in 2003 which featured David Jason as Frost on the cover. [1]

In 2008 Russell, drummer Ralph Salmins, and sound engineer Rik Walton created Made Up Music, a music library that distributes music on its web site and by sending portable hard drives to music editors. [4]

In March 2020, Russell featured on an episode of the BBC Television programme Antiques Roadshow , in which his fretless six-string electric guitar, made by Bartell and gifted to him by George Harrison, having originally belonged to John Lennon, was valued at £300,000-£400,000. [7] [8]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "RTS Yorkshire Awards 2006". Royal Television Society. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Ray Russell | Guitarist and Composer" . Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Moonraker Soundtrack Album B000008HTH Recorded April 1979 - EMI
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Ray Russell | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Brett, Paul (2021). Finding Fretless The story of George Harrison Mad Guitar. United Kingdom: This day in music. ISBN   9781838379889.
  6. ↑ "Royal Television Society Award Yorkshire area 2006". 31 January 2011.
  7. ↑ "Battle Abbey 1". Antiques Roadshow. Series 42. Episode 1. 1 March 2020. BBC Television. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Brett, Paul (2021). Finding fretless : the story of George Harrison's 'mad' guitar. Prestatyn, Wales. ISBN   978-1-8383798-8-9. OCLC   1294358057.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ↑ "Ray Russell Quartet - Turn Circle review". The Vortez Jazz Club. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  10. ↑ Farbey, Roger (20 October 2007). "Turn Circle". All About Jazz.com. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  11. ↑ Bivins, Jason (9 April 2006). "Goodbye Svengali review". Dusted Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  12. ↑ Fordham, John (16 May 2013). "Ray Russell: Now, More Than Ever – review". Guardian Media Group. The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
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