NRG Ensemble
Generation
On Generation, Hal Russell’s NRG Ensemble collides with Charles Tyler to turbo‑charge its already volatile chemistry, turning multi‑author charts into a raucous, shape‑shifting suite of free‑jazz blowouts, sly grooves and side‑eyed melody.
Hal Russell NRG Ensemble
On their 1981 debut, NRG Ensemble, Hal Russell and his much younger bandmates detonate a joyous, combustible mix of free jazz, skewed swing and dada humour, turning multi-instrumental chaos into a sharply etched group identity.
The Finnish/Swiss Tour
A landmark in avant-garde jazz, The Finnish / Swiss Tour captures the irrepressible energy and inventiveness of the Hal Russell NRG Ensemble live in Europe. Recorded in November 1990 at the Tampere Jazz Happening (Finland) and the Internationales Jazz Festival Zürich (Switzerland), this album documents the group’s first European tour and was originally released by ECM in 1991.
Led by multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell (tenor & soprano saxophones, trumpet, vibraphone, drums), the NRG Ensemble feat…
Hold That Thought
From a night of music in Holland that's become legendary among NRG Ensemble enthusiasts, Hold That Thought presents a blazing concert of the quintet's unique sound. With Mars Williams and Ken Vandermark on reeds, Kent Kessler and Brian Sandstrom on basses (the latter doubling on trumpet and electric guitar), and Steve Hunt on drums, this incarnation of the band was arguably its tightest and mightiest, taking the inspiration of founder Hal Russell (1926-1992) and running with it. All the way. The…