Russell Hall Releases “Black Caesar”
Bassist Russell Hall has released Black Caesar, a new album of music that spans hundreds of years while using jazz as its foundation. His compositions mix modern sounds with styles from a hundred years ago and even five hundred years ago. Though the music is so diverse, it all was created as a response to the tragedies of the last three years.
“Due to the tragic killings of unarmed black people in tandem with COVID 19, I created a piece entitled ‘BLACK CAESAR’ to reflect the modern civil rights movement and the struggle to normalcy in the new decade,” Hall writes. “This piece takes influence from many of the Blaxploitation pieces that have been created in music and film as well as taking musical and thematic elements from all eras of music from the 1600s to beyond our time.”
Hall begins the album with “Bessie’s Bop,” a hip-hop-flavored jam that vents frustrations. From there, he explores Mingus-esque textures on “Fudawg Bluez” before mellowing into the Bossa-inflected “A Touch of Destiny.” Among the bebop, ballads, and blues is even a jig that features an Arco melody accompanied by piano and tap dancing.
Listen to “The Way,” which starts with Hall’s solo musings before the band kicks in:
Black Caesar is available now via iTunes and Amazon MP3.
Black Caesar Track List:
- Bessie’s Bop
- Fudawg Bluez
- A Touch of Destiny
- The Wildcarddd!
- The Way
- Oovoo’s Jig
- Phoenix and the Dragon
- Queen Anne’s Revenge
- Quartermaster’s Conundrum
- Black Caesar
- Phoenix Rising
- Enter the Dragon
- Sex Magic
- Debbie’s Bounce
