Jazz guitarist Russell Malone returns home for concert

ALBANY — After traveling the world, spreading his silky smooth sound, internationally renowned guitarist Russell Malone is returning to his hometown Friday for a night of Jazz at the Albany Municipal Auditorium.

Malone, originally from Albany, has been described as a virtuoso by many in the jazz community and has spent his career playing alongside master musicians such as Jimmy Smith, Harry Connick Jr. and Diana Krall.

Renaissance Connection Inc., an Albany non-profit dedicated to supporting creativity through all forms of art, is producing the show.

“This is our sixth concert,” Renaissance Connection founder and jazz lover Femi Anderson said. “We started in 2016 doing smaller shows. We had about 90 people at our first event. Now, we do an event each quarter, and we have done the events at different places as they continue to grow.”

Anderson explained that growing up, she and twin sister, Bummi, also a founding member of Renaissance Connection, were immersed in jazz music by their parents.

“I have a twin sister, and we grew up kind of not loving jazz, but we had no choice,” Anderson said. “Our parents were avid jazz lovers and so, we constantly heard it. We didn’t really understand it as children, but now that we are older we realize how great the music is.

“We have always been influenced by it, been around it and we go to a lot of jazz events. Generally, we travel out of town because there is not a whole lot here. That’s one reason we decided to have the concert here. We go to festivals and events, and we decided to bring that experience to Albany.”

Jazz, considered by many one of America’s true original art forms, is characterized by swing and blues, call and response vocals, poly-rhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions, combining blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music. The foundation of jazz is deeply rooted within the black experience of the United States, with other cultures contributing their own experience and styles to the art form.

Anderson, while talking about the upcoming concert, passionately described some of her favorite jazz musicians, artists who influenced her love of the art form over the years. Malone occupied a spot near the top of that list.

“I love Coltrane,” Anderson said. “Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, you know the greats, but I would have to say Russell is one of my favorites, too. There was also George Duke. He died about four years ago, I think. We grew up listening to all of this great music. My parents listened to all kinds of jazz, so some musicians I grew up listening to I didn’t realize were jazz musicians, but they were. My father was in love with Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.”

According to Anderson, she and Malone met several years ago, a chance encounter that set Friday’s concert in motion.

“I met him about eight years ago and knew then that I wanted to have him do a concert,” she said. “He was here in town at the time, and I told him then I wanted to do a show. So when we got ready to do a big show, we wanted to bring someone who was big and somewhat mainstream, at least as much as you can be in jazz. And I thought of Russell.”

Malone’s music, both exciting and subtle, draws the listener in, elevating them to a transcendent state. His smooth finger-picking style, improvisational intuition and mastery of scales and modes, at times, dissolves the barrier between artist and instrument, making each an extension of the other and creating an existential harmonic experience.

Albany State University’s Faculty Jazz Band will open the event, which kicks off at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30, $40 or $50 and can be purchased at the Albany Civic Center box office or at ticketmaster.com.

For more information, call (229) 869-3380 or (229) 436-0802.