Russ Gershon (born August 11, 1959) is an American

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, who founded the

Either/Orchestra The Either/Orchestra (E/O) is a jazz group formed by Russ Gershon in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, in 1985. E/O is configured as a "small big band", with three saxes, two trumpets and one or two trombones. E/O's is characterized by a heavier an ...

in Massachusetts in 1985.

Early years and education

Gershon grew up in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...

and attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where he received a degree in philosophy and was a disc jockey, jazz director and station manager at Harvard's

WHRB WHRB is a commercial FM radio station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz and is operated by students at Harvard College. The station is owned by Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., Inc., a non-profit corporation independent ...

radio station. He attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

in 1984–85. On December 17, 1985 Either/Orchestra played its first live show at the

Cambridge Public Library The Cambridge Public Library (CPL) in Cambridge, Massachusetts consists of a unified city-wide system maintaining: a main branch, of notable aesthetic architectural value, plus a further six localized branches sited throughout the city. Having ev ...

Career

Gershon founded Accurate Records, which has released albums by

Morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...

Medeski Martin & Wood Medeski Martin & Wood (or MMW) is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and ...

, the

Alloy Orchestra The Alloy Orchestra was a musical ensemble based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It performed its own accompaniments to silent films of the classic movie era on an unusual collection of found objects (horseshoes, plumbing pipes, and ...

, Ghost Train Orchestra, the Either/Orchestra, Dominique Eade, and Garrison Fewell. He has been a member of rock bands the Decoders (1980–82), the Sex Execs (1982–84), Hypnosonics (1986–1999), Orchestra Morphine (2000–present), and Bourbon Princess (2003–2008). He has worked as a studio musician and has performed in Boston. In 1997, Gershon played arrangements of Ethiopian popular music with the Either/Orchestra. This drew the attention of

Francis Falceto Francis Falceto is a contemporary French musicologist and music producer, specialising in World music and in particular music of Ethiopia which he helped propagate internationally from 1986 onwards.

, who produced the "

Éthiopiques ''Éthiopiques'' is a series of compact discs featuring Ethiopian singers and musicians. Many of the CDs compile songs from various singles and albums that Amha Records, Kaifa Records and Philips-Ethiopia released during the 1960s and 1970s in Et ...

" series of albums to document 20th century Ethiopian music. Through Falceto's connections, Gershon and his band were invited to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

in 2004 and became the first American big band to perform in Ethiopia since

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

's in 1973. Their principal concert was released as the album ''Ethiopiques 20: Live in Addis'' and led to working with Ethiopian musicians such as

Mulatu Astatke Mulatu Astatke (; French pronunciation: Astatqé; born 19 December 1943) is an Ethiopian musician and arranger considered as the father of "Ethio-jazz". Born in Jimma, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston where he ...

Mahmoud Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed (Amharic language, Amharic: ማሕሙድ አሕመድ; born 8 May 1941) is an Ethiopian singer. He gained great popularity in Ethiopian Golden Age of music, Ethiopia in the 1970s and among the Ethiopian diaspora in the 1980s, bef ...

, Getachew Mekurya,

Alemayehu Eshete Alemayehu Eshete Andarge (Amharic: ዓለማየሁ እሸቴ አንዳርጌ; June 1941 – 2 September 2021) was an Ethiopian singer, widely known as the "Abyssinian Elvis" for his dynamic performances and his fusion of traditional Ethiopian ...

and Teshome Mitiku. In 2016 Gershon appeared with Ahmed's band at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Awards and honors

Grammy Award nomination, Best Original Arrangement of an Instrumental Composition, "Bennie Moten's Weird Nightmare"

Discography

As leader

With

* ''Dial "E"'' (Accurate, 1987) * ''Radium'' (Accurate, 1988) * ''

The Half-Life of Desire ''The Half-Life of Desire'' is an album by the Either/Orchestra recorded in 1989, with one track from 1988, and released by the Accurate Records label the following year.

'' (Accurate, 1990) * ''The Calculus of Pleasure'' (Accurate, 1992) * ''The Brunt'' (Accurate, 1994) * ''Across the Omniverse'' (Accurate, 1996) * ''More Beautiful than Death'' (Accurate, 2000) * ''Afro-Cubism'' (Accurate, 2002) * ''Neo-Modernism'' (Accurate, 2004) * ''Ethiopiques Vol. 20: Live in Addis'' (

Buda Musique Buda Musique is a French record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1987 by Gilles Fruchaux and Dominique Buscall. After Buscall died in 1990, Fruchaux became the sole owner. The label is especially known for its '' Éthiopiques' ...

, 2005) * ''Mood Music for Time Travellers'' (Accurate, 2010)

As sideman

With

* ''B-Sides and Otherwise'' (Rykodisc, 1997) * ''Early to Bed'' (Rykodisc, 1997) * ''Potion'' (Rykodisc, 1997) With others *

, ''Mulatu Steps Ahead'' (Strut, 2010) * Concussion Ensemble, ''Stampede'' (Conc, 1993) *

Bob Merrill Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. Merrill was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. His ...

, ''Cheerin' Up the Universe'' (Accurate, 2015) *

Mark Sandman Mark Sandman (September 24, 1952 – July 3, 1999) was an American singer, songwriter, musical instrument inventor, multi-instrumentalist and comic writer. Sandman possessed a distinctive, deep bass-baritone voice and a mysterious demeanour. He w ...

, ''Sandbox'' (Hi-n-Dry, 2004) *

Laurie Sargent Laurie Sargent is best known as a songwriter and vocalist in the 1980s and 1990s. She was active in the city of Boston. Around 2008, she and her long-term partner, drummer Billy Conway, moved to Montana, where they began raising food on an organ ...

, ''Little Dipper and the Shooting Star'' (Hi-n-Dry, 2013) *

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was original ...

, ''Hunkpapa'' (4AD, 1989) *

Twinemen Twinemen were an alternative rock band based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA created by former members of the bands Morphine and Face to Face. The group included Dana Colley (saxophone / vocals), Billy Conway (percussion / vocals / sometimes ...

, ''Twinemen'' (Hi-n-Dry, 2002)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gershon, Russ 1959 births Living people Musicians from Massachusetts 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American saxophonists American male composers American male saxophonists American music industry executives Avant-garde jazz musicians American male jazz musicians Harvard College alumni