Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Russ Little is a Toronto trombonist, arranger, composer and bandleader. Over more than five decades he has worked in touring big bands, in the horn-rock group Lighthouse, in Toronto's recording studios and on Canadian television.

Born in Toronto in 1941, Little spent part of his early childhood in Jamaica before returning to Canada. At Malvern Collegiate he learned trombone from the teacher and trombonist George McRae, then studied conducting with Ward Cole and composition with Godfrey Ridout at the University of Toronto while playing R&B and jazz gigs around the city. By the late 1960s he was touring with Woody Herman's orchestra as lead trombone and featured soloist, playing in Belgium with Slide Hampton and joining the Ted Heath Orchestra in England. He later filled the same role with the Count Basie Orchestra.

In 1969 Little became an original member of Lighthouse, staying through 1970. From 1972 to 1975 he played in Rob McConnell & The Boss Brass, working as both section player and arranger. The critic Peter Goddard heard bop by way of rhythm and blues in his solos, "a funky, edgy tone that bites little phrases out."

On June 21, 1971, Little recorded a solo disc for the CBC's LM transcription series at Studio 4-Sound in Toronto. CBC LM 119 included David Clayton-Thomas's 'Lucretia MacEvil', David Gates's 'I Want to Make It With You', Burton Cummings's 'Albert Flasher' and Little's own composition 'Deeper and Deeper'. A second CBC transcription disc, LM 149, followed with 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', 'You've Got a Friend', 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' and 'Too Late Baby'.

Through the 1970s and 1980s Little wrote and conducted for Canadian television programs including The Patsy Gallant Show, Shake, Rock and Roll and Circus, and for more than 15 years he was musical director of the Miss Canada and Miss Teen Canada pageants. He composed for CBC specials, documentaries and the stage, including Black Hallelujah, written with Norman Symonds, and Cosmic Orpheus, performed by the New York City Ballet in the mid-1970s. His songs have been recorded by Salome Bey, Dusty Springfield and Shirley Eikhard. In 1990 he launched the Russ Little Big Band, playing his arrangements of the jazz repertoire at Rockit and other Toronto clubs.

Little returned to recording under his own name with Snapshot. In the album notes he described the title as a sonic photograph of his jazz trombone playing around 2004 and 2005. It set his quartet of pianist Tom Szczesniak, bassist Scott Alexander and drummer Brian Barlow alongside saxophonists Phil Dwyer, Michael Stuart and John Johnson, flautist Bill McBirnie and guitarists Lorne Lofsky, Mike Francis and Rob Piltch. The Globe and Mail noted how he kept pace with Dwyer and McBirnie on the fast tunes and moved into a honeyed upper register on the ballads.

Footwork appeared in December 2006, with 'Four Brothers', 'Up Jumped Spring' and 'Things Ain't What They Used to Be' among its ten tracks. In 2007 Little was named Trombonist of the Year at the National Jazz Awards. On The Shoulders Of Giants (Rhythm Tracks, 2008), co-produced with Brian Barlow, who also arranged it, includes tunes by Duke Ellington, Benny Golson, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk and John Lewis. Slow Burn appeared on Rhythm Tracks in 2011. Both Rhythm Tracks albums were recorded at Inception Sound Studios in Toronto with engineer Chad Irschick.

The Russ Little Quartet, with Szczesniak, Alexander and Barlow, played six consecutive nights at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival with singer Heather Bambrick and a different guest each night.

-Robert Williston