Dillon (Curly) Russell, 69, Bassist for Dizzy Gillespie in Be-Bop Heyday, Dies

Dillon (Curly) Russell, a bassist who was part of the 1945 Dizzy Gillespie quintet that first recorded be-bop, has died of respiratory ailments.

Russell was 69 and died July 3 in a New York City hospital. He lived and worked in New York most of his life.

A native of Trinidad, Russell went on the road with the Don Redman band in 1941. He joined Benny Carter in 1943 and came with Carter to California where he made records and became part of t1751457895orchestras.

He was probably the best-known bassist in the country when he performed with the Gillespie quintet, which featured saxophonist Charlie Parker. That group’s 1945 recording of “Salt Peanuts” was the nation’s introduction to be-bop.

Later he became house bassist at Birdland, the seminal be-bop nightclub and worked with such jazz stars as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Coleman Hawkins and Stan Getz.

After the jazz craze began to subside in the late 1950s, Russell spent most of his latter years performing with an assortment of rhythm and blues artists.