Russ Mullen has not only excelled as a musician, but also as a teacher and inspiration to youth in Santa Monica. Russ teaches full-time at John Adams Middle School and directs the John Adams Middle School Jazz Band and Jazz Workshop in Santa Monica - work for which he has been honored by the California State Legislature and the City of Santa Monica.
He has been a teacher and member of the Board of Directors for Jazz America, a non-profit organization where LA jazz legends teach and mentor gifted high school jazz musicians.
Russ has also been honored by the Los Angeles City Council for his work with the after school music program at Le Conte Middle School in Hollywood, working with the Los Angeles Center for Educational Research to help start a summer jazz enrichment program at Washington Irving Middle School in East LA, and for performing in an all-star band made up mostly of Duke Ellington alumni in a series of concerts to commemorate Duke Ellington's 100th birthday.
A natural talent, Russ started playing the piano when he was four years old, the trumpet in junior high and he taught himself the other brass instruments shortly thereafter. By the time he was in high school he was playing professionally.
Since then he has toured the U.S. and Canada with several successful bands, performed at a number of music festivals, and has played or recorded with such artists as Dion Ferris, Guitar Shorty, Nijite and the Olodum Prophecy, Little Sister, Carman, Big City and Buddy Collette, as well as being an opening act for major artists including the Pointer Sisters and Jefferson Starship.
Russ Mullen and the Jazz Associates got its start when fate brought the members of the group together to talk about something they all loved: jazz music. They have since performed throughout the Southern California area. The members of the band are:
- Harley Lipton, who studied music at LA Valley College and Cal State Northridge, plays all the woodwinds with various bands in the Los Angeles area, and is known for his studio work in motion pictures and television shows.
- Denis Gobeille, who started playing the guitar at the age of 8 and studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston before moving to the Los Angeles area and touring the U.S. and Canada playing at many top show clubs throughout. He joined the Jazz Associates as a good friend of Russ Mullen.
- Steve Donovan, who has played, composed, produced, arranged, and recorded for many diverse artists, in jazz, R&B, pop, and even rap styles, as well as for film, TV, CDs, and advertisements. He has also had a stand-out career as a solo pianist, performing regularly at the New York Hilton, The Pierre and The Helmsley Palace, as well as various concerts. He has had a long association with International Steinway Artist Steve Hall, as an arranger and performer on over twenty successful CDs.
- Steve Sadd, who has toured internationally and performed with a variety of different groups and celebrity artists doing many styles of music. He has performed or recorded with several noted jazz artists including Tom Garvin, Art Pepper, Jim Keltner, Thom Rotella, Roger Newman, Rick Zunigar and Tom Peterson, and has worked as a studio artist playing both the Electric Bass and Saxophone.
- Inskip Dasent, who started playing at a very young age in his home Island of Trinidad, learning his craft from local musicians. He has toured internationally, performing with various artists as a recognized master percussionist of all styles. He returns to Trinidad annually to perform at the “Panorama Steel Band Festival".
For Additional information on the Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division and the Jazz on the Lawn series
For more information contact All About Jazz.
