George Russell (born 1923 in Cincinnati, died in Boston in 2009, at age 86) was a jazz composer, theorist, conductor, and drummer who was the primary force behind the creation of modal jazz. Russell was a drummer in Benny Carter's band in the early 1940s; he was replaced by Max Roach and, after hearing Roach play, decided to give up drumming. He moved to New York, and was one of a group of musicians who met in the apartment of Gil Evans (these included Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Max Roach, Johnny Carisi and sometimes Charlie Parker.

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