It was during this second lengthy recovery in the mid-40s that he began laying the foundation for what was to become the legendary Lydian Chromatic Concept. He had the opportunity to play drums in Charlie Parker's group but was once again hospitalized for tuberculosis. This group included Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, John Lewis, Charlie Parker, and Max Roach. Consequently, he dedicated himself completely to composing, arranging, and developing his concept.ĭuring the time, Russell was warmly welcomed into a small group of young, innovative musicians working with composer/arranger Gil Evans. After recuperating, he briefly joined Benny Carter's band but was unexpectedly replaced by renowned drummer Max Roach. During his hospitalization, he sold his first big band arrangement to Benny Carter. In 1941, Russell was stricken with tuberculosis and was hospitalized. Russell moved to New York City in the early 1940s. By this time, he was also playing drums in Cincinnati nightclubs. Hailed as a historical breakthrough, his work has evolved into one of jazz's major advances.īorn in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1923, Russell attended Wilberforce University High School, began playing drums with the Boy Scout Drum and Bugle Corps, and eventually won a scholarship to Wilberforce University. This system of tonal organization provides musicians with a wider choice of melodic and harmonic resources. George Russell began developing the Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization in the mid-1940s, devising a system based on a ladder of perfect fifths that grade intervals by how far they are from a central tone. In February 2000, he released his CD, Tales from the Void. Wells was the founder and served as President of the Black Music Society of Missouri and has been affiliated with a number of arts organizations, including the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council, and the Missouri Performing Traditions Advisory Council. Louis Community College at Forest Park, the Black Music Society’s Jazz Lab Band, Harris Stowe State University Brass Ensemble, and performed as trumpeter while helping manage a brass quintet named Brass Alive! He has also performed as a member of numerous prestigious jazz ensembles throughout the St. He has been a member of the Albert King Band and the George Hudson Jazz Orchestra, has served as director of the Jazz Edge Big Band, the Black Music Society’s Jazz Repertory Ensemble, the Grand Center Jazz Ensemble, the Jazz Band of St. Louis area as a jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Louis” at the Missouri History Museum in St. He was also recently included in the exhibit “#1 in Civil Rights/The African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis African-Americans of the twentieth century. Louis African-American Heritage Project as one of the 100 most influential St. He was featured in a photo exhibit and subsequent book titled, Lift Every Voice and Sing: The St. Wells has been awarded a Jazz Artist Marketing Fellowship from the Mid-America Arts Alliance, a National Endowment for the Arts Travel/Study grant, and several other awards and honors. He has conducted numerous workshops, lectures, and demonstrations on the Lydian Chromatic Concept and related topics.ĭuring his career, Mr. Under the tutelage of the internationally known composer, music theorist, and MacArthur Fellow George Russell, Wells earned certification in the Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization and currently holds the distinction of being one of only five persons in the United States with that certification. He also studied trumpet with internationally known trumpeter Clark Terry, noted instructor Carmine Caruso, as well as Gary Smith of the St. Wells received his baccalaureate degree in Music Education from SIUE and completed his master’s degree in Afro-American Music and Trumpet at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
His most recent research focuses on the Quadrivium, the relationship between arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy.
Wells has taught freshman Music Theory, Introduction to Music History and Literature, and other such diverse courses as Foundations of Music, Jazz History, Black Music in America, African American Music and the Struggle For Freedom, as well as developing and co-teaching Music: Art and Science (an interdisciplinary course that examines music as both an art and science). He currently serves as a faculty advisor for the African Student Association. He has served as Director of the Music Business Program, Director of the Black Studies Program, Chair of the Music Department, and President of the SIUE Black Faculty and Staff Association. Prince Wells joined the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) faculty in 1989 and was appointed Assistant Professor in 1996.
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