Ross Russell

The Dial Records catalogue of Charlie Parker recordings is probably the best selection of his work for any one label. The recordings have been distributed over the years in many formats and only in the 60's were they finally consolidated into a collective work. In any biography of Charlie Parker, Ross Russell deserves a place because he not only owned a label that recorded Parker, but he authored two books, a 'biography' of Parker, Bird Lives, and a novel, The Sound, that was drew its inspiration from Parker's life.

Russell has been painted as an exploiter of Parker, but it must be remembered that whatever Russell did to exploit him, Parker, at the time, was an addict without a source and without funds. Parker was desperate and Russell may have offered a solution. Although Russell manoeuvred Parker into an exclusive contract with Dial, contracts were not something that Parker paid too much attention, and, in actuality, he was already under contract with another label.

Throughout his life, Russell was a big fan of jazz and in the thirties collected rare jazz records. Ultimately, he was looking for a way to make a living from his hobby. At the end of the last war, he spotted a business opportunity, and having saved every penny of his navy pay, he realised that the AMF ban on recording "…had created an unprecedented seller's market". Shortly afterwards he opened the Tempo record shop and later launched Dial Records. He hesitatingly bought a box of Parker 78's and was surprised that he sold them all in an afternoon. Tempo became the only source in Los Angeles at the time for records of the new Be-Bop music that was appearing on the East Coast.

His relationship with Parker did not begin until Parker and Gillespie came to Hollywood for a residency at Billy Bergs. Russell became Parker's personal manager, and the early attempts to record him only produced a handful of songs. The Parker that played on them was close to a mental and physical collapse. In one famous session, whilst undergoing involuntary heroin withdrawal and battling the symptoms with quarts of cheap whiskey, Parker was barely able to stand, let alone produce a performance of his usual ability. The track 'Loverman' is a harrowing, yet haunting document of a desperate person unknowingly bearing their soul. After this session, a series of well-documented events found Parker arrested and institutionalised. (These events have been described many times and in many conflicting ways, that it is doubtful we will ever really know the truth of what happened). Tempo Record Store 1945?

Apparently, Russell visited Parker in Camarillo where he was hospitalised and became scared when Parker talked about escaping: "Russell starts digging through the California mental hygiene code. He finds the solution - with the approval of a special judicial commission, a committed patient may be released into the custody of an approved state resident. Russell will be this person, enabling him to get the musician discharged in exchange for a few contractual guarantees: the renewal of Parker's completely exclusive contract with Dial. Russell has cleverly taken advantage of the situation. Parker's hands are tied....". *

It is rumoured that when Russell finally managed to release Parker from the hospital, he drove him straight to a gig expecting Parker to perform! It is safe to assume that although appearing to be a mercenary act by his manager, after six months in a hospital, Parker would want to get straight back to playing.