All But Blind

I love these lyrics. They are a public domain poem by Walter de la Mare and are beautifully profound. Eddie wrote a nice, easy jazz waltz.  The chord progressions are great for improv and all of Eddie Russ’s songs reflect his blend of blues, jazz, and his laid-back, gentle worldview. I met Eddie when I joined the faculty at Thomas Jefferson College where he was teaching jazz piano. A student of ours brought me his composition “Zaius.” And after I gave Eddie draft lyrics of it to approve, he started giving me more compositions. At one concert he announced, “Here’s Song A and Song B until Janice writes lyrics for them.”   All in all, in two short years we were able to create 13 collaborations. We played together often in concerts and clubs while I was there. Eddie Russ was a master of really lyrical “funk and groove” jazz. The Shop will have a dozen or more of our collaborations,  including two other waltzes, “Valse 24” and “Four for Three.” (The sound clip is from “Soul Jazz Records Present Eddie Russ.”)