Arthur Russell

Arthur Russell was born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on May 21, 1951. trained on cello and piano, he moved to San Fancisco at the age of eighteen, where he studied at the conservatory, while also taking an interest in Buddhism and Indian classical music, and accompanying the poet Allen Ginsberg. Relocated to New York in 1973, Russell joined the Manhattan School and took courses in electronic music at Columbia University. He rubbed shoulders with avant-garde composer Rhys Chatham, whom he replaced as director of The Kitchen music center (1974-1975). Influenced by minimalist composers, the cellist practiced various musical forms of the moment, from rock to disco, and created ephemeral groups or personal entities such as The Flying Hearts, Dinosaur L, Loose Joints or Indian Ocean, for the duration of a few scattered records. He collaborated with artists from the burgeoning New York scene such as Ernie Brooks, David Byrne and Peter Gordon, created the Sleeping Bag Records label and released two albums under his own name, Tower of Meaning (1983), featuring orchestral variations conducted by Julius Eastman, and World of Echo (1986), a multi-effect electronic production on which he sings and accompanies himself on cello. Only a fraction of his prolific output saw the light of day before his death from AIDS on April 4, 1992, at the age of 40. His musical holdings, comprising hundreds of tapes, are featured on compilations such as Another Thought (1994), The World of Arthur Russell (2004), Calling Out of Context (2004), First Thought Best Thought (2006), Corn (2019) and Picture of Bunny Rabbit (2023).