New York City—Jonathan Russell, the award winning fourteen-year-old jazz violinist has received one of the Daniel Pearl Memorial violins from Mark O'Connor and the faculty at the inaugural Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp in New York City.
Each year, two exceptional violinists are awarded this honor by O'Connor and the violin maker Jonathan Cooper. Mr. Russell will have full use of the handcrafted instrument for a year, including appearances in October as part of the 8th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days.
Over the past few years, I have increasingly realized that we can use music to bridge the gaps between generations, races and cultures, says Mr. Russell. Daniel Pearl shared a similar vision of spreading peace through music. I hope to fulfill his vision by performing on this violin and speaking about tolerance and peace in the world. Its such a great honor to be a caretaker of both this violin and Danny's message.
About the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violins:
In 2003, luthier Jonathan Cooper made the first Daniel Pearl Memorial violin in honor of the international journalist and talented musician Danny Pearl, with a second violin following a few years later. In addition to being a journalist, Mr. Pearl played violin and fiddle wherever he traveled prior to his murder by terrorists in 2002. Mr. Cooper hoped that the violin would be used to promote music as a means for cultural understanding and tolerance. Each year, talented students from Mark O'Connors fiddle camps are awarded the use of these violins for one year. The musicians perform year round and share Pearl's vision of building borderless friendships through music. The winners also dedicate concerts each year to the World Music Days mission of spreading “Harmony for Humanity."
About Jonathan Russell:
Jonathan has become an integral link to the future of jazz, connecting younger generations of listeners with great musicians and band leaders such as Wynton Marsalis, the late Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli and Ed Polcer. His youth presentations have helped connect students with jazz by identifying aspects of jazz in every day modern life. His performances seamlessly integrate modern and popular melodies into the fabric of jazz standards while respecting and acknowledging the golden age of jazz in America and the performers who have come before.
In 2005, at the age of nine, Jonathan was awarded an Alternative Styles Award by the American String Teachers Association. In 2006, Jonathan had the honor of being the youngest jazz musician ever invited to play in a master class at Jazz at Lincoln Center taught by today's foremost name in jazz violin, Regina Carter. In addition to numerous other awards and distinctions, Jonathan is most proud to have received the U.S. Ambassador's Award in Hungary for his performances promoting mutual understanding and strengthening the friendship between the two countries. In November of 2008 Jonathan appeared as one of the youngest ever feature performers with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at Rose Hall in New York. Those performances at Rose Hall were also featured in a live broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and re-broadcast on NPR stations around the world.
Jonathan has been a feature performer at major jazz festivals including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the Suncoast Dixieland Jazz Festival, the New Jersey and North Carolina jazz festivals. In 2008 he made his European debut at the Bohm Ragtime & Jazz Festival with performances in eight cities throughout Hungary. He has been featured at The Blue Note in New York City and has performed at other venues such as Iridium and Birdland. In the past he has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Bucky Pizzarelli, the late Les Paul, John Lamb, John Bunch, Svend Asmussen and more than 40 jazz bands from the United States and Europe.
A ninth grade student at Professional Children's School in Manhattan, Jonathan studies violin at the School for Strings with Allen Lieb while his jazz studies have been with Grammy Award winner Andy Stein of Prairie Home Companion's Shoe Band and jazz arranger Ron Drotos. Jonathan also pursues supplemental studies during the summer at Grammy Award winner Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Camp and master classes with the legendary jazz be-bop pianist and educator Barry Harris. In addition to violin studies, Jonathan is studying film scoring with two members of the faculty of NYU- Ron Sadoff and Ira Newborn.
His first CD entitled The Sheik of Araby features eleven standards from the jazz age. Jonathan's newest CD, Puttin' On The Ritz, features many of the performers he has been working with including Bucky Pizzarelli, Joel Forbes, Joe Ascione, Nicki Parrott, Mark Shane and Ed Polcer.
Each year, two exceptional violinists are awarded this honor by O'Connor and the violin maker Jonathan Cooper. Mr. Russell will have full use of the handcrafted instrument for a year, including appearances in October as part of the 8th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days.
Over the past few years, I have increasingly realized that we can use music to bridge the gaps between generations, races and cultures, says Mr. Russell. Daniel Pearl shared a similar vision of spreading peace through music. I hope to fulfill his vision by performing on this violin and speaking about tolerance and peace in the world. Its such a great honor to be a caretaker of both this violin and Danny's message.
About the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violins:
In 2003, luthier Jonathan Cooper made the first Daniel Pearl Memorial violin in honor of the international journalist and talented musician Danny Pearl, with a second violin following a few years later. In addition to being a journalist, Mr. Pearl played violin and fiddle wherever he traveled prior to his murder by terrorists in 2002. Mr. Cooper hoped that the violin would be used to promote music as a means for cultural understanding and tolerance. Each year, talented students from Mark O'Connors fiddle camps are awarded the use of these violins for one year. The musicians perform year round and share Pearl's vision of building borderless friendships through music. The winners also dedicate concerts each year to the World Music Days mission of spreading “Harmony for Humanity."
About Jonathan Russell:
Jonathan has become an integral link to the future of jazz, connecting younger generations of listeners with great musicians and band leaders such as Wynton Marsalis, the late Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli and Ed Polcer. His youth presentations have helped connect students with jazz by identifying aspects of jazz in every day modern life. His performances seamlessly integrate modern and popular melodies into the fabric of jazz standards while respecting and acknowledging the golden age of jazz in America and the performers who have come before.
In 2005, at the age of nine, Jonathan was awarded an Alternative Styles Award by the American String Teachers Association. In 2006, Jonathan had the honor of being the youngest jazz musician ever invited to play in a master class at Jazz at Lincoln Center taught by today's foremost name in jazz violin, Regina Carter. In addition to numerous other awards and distinctions, Jonathan is most proud to have received the U.S. Ambassador's Award in Hungary for his performances promoting mutual understanding and strengthening the friendship between the two countries. In November of 2008 Jonathan appeared as one of the youngest ever feature performers with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at Rose Hall in New York. Those performances at Rose Hall were also featured in a live broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and re-broadcast on NPR stations around the world.
Jonathan has been a feature performer at major jazz festivals including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the Suncoast Dixieland Jazz Festival, the New Jersey and North Carolina jazz festivals. In 2008 he made his European debut at the Bohm Ragtime & Jazz Festival with performances in eight cities throughout Hungary. He has been featured at The Blue Note in New York City and has performed at other venues such as Iridium and Birdland. In the past he has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Bucky Pizzarelli, the late Les Paul, John Lamb, John Bunch, Svend Asmussen and more than 40 jazz bands from the United States and Europe.
A ninth grade student at Professional Children's School in Manhattan, Jonathan studies violin at the School for Strings with Allen Lieb while his jazz studies have been with Grammy Award winner Andy Stein of Prairie Home Companion's Shoe Band and jazz arranger Ron Drotos. Jonathan also pursues supplemental studies during the summer at Grammy Award winner Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Camp and master classes with the legendary jazz be-bop pianist and educator Barry Harris. In addition to violin studies, Jonathan is studying film scoring with two members of the faculty of NYU- Ron Sadoff and Ira Newborn.
His first CD entitled The Sheik of Araby features eleven standards from the jazz age. Jonathan's newest CD, Puttin' On The Ritz, features many of the performers he has been working with including Bucky Pizzarelli, Joel Forbes, Joe Ascione, Nicki Parrott, Mark Shane and Ed Polcer.
