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Romantics would say it was love at first sight. Or in this case, maybe first listen. Jonathan Russell saw a picture of a violin at the age of 18 months and repeated the word every time he saw one. Soon after that he began picking out the sound of the violin on recordings. And when he held one on his shoulder for the first time, it was definitely a done deal. Jonathan and the violin were a dynamic duo called to destiny. But his beginnings in jazz are a bit hazier in his parents’ recollections. It started with Bei Mir Bist du Shein for sure, and his early spontaneous improvisations on the rhythm. Shortly after, he began to pick out the notes to Ain’t Misbehavin’ and everything seemed to take off from there like wildfire.

As a Suzuki-trained musician, Jonathan learns easily by ear but also reads and writes music. While he is skillful at adapting any of the jazz standards he plays for other styles, his heart is in the Traditional, Dixieland and Swing genres—the true roots of jazz. In addition to attending Professional Children’s School in Manhattan, he is studying Suzuki violin at the School for Strings with Allen Lieb, while his jazz studies are with Grammy Award winner Andy Stein of Prairie Home Companion’s Shoe Band. In 2005, at the age of nine, Jonathan was awarded the Alternative Styles Award in the under 13 category for Best Improvisation by the American String Teachers Association at their annual conference in Reno, Nevada. In 2006, Jonathan had the honor of being the youngest jazz musician ever invited to play in a master class at Jazz at Lincoln Center taught by Regina Carter. In 2008 Jonathan was featured with Wynton Marsalis and hte Jazz at Lincoln Center at Rose Hall in Lincoln Center in New York and on XM Satelite Radio. And every gig is a learning experience as well as a blast as he puts out the music and also soaks it in, learning from great band leaders such as Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli and Ed Polcer.

Jonathan has been a feature performer at major jazz festivals including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Bohém Ragtime & Jazz Festival in Hungary, the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, the Suncoast Dixieland Jazz Festival, the New Jersey, North Carolina and Great Connecticut Traditional jazz festivals. He has been featured at The Blue Note in New York City and has performed at smaller venues such as Iridium and Birdland. In the past he has played with Bucky Pizzarelli, Les Paul, John Lamb, Titan Hot 7, Blue Street Jazz Band, Fryer/Barnhart International All-Stars, Igor’s Jazz Cowboys and High Sierra Jazz Band. Jonathan regularly performs with the Grove Street Stompers and Ed Polcer in New York and Barbone Street in Pennsylvania. In the spring of 2009 he is scheduled to perform at the Breda Jazz Festival in Holland. He has released two CD’s entitled The Sheik of Araby and Puttin On The Ritz featuring eleven performers such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Joel Forbes, Joe Ascione, NIcki Parrott, Mark Shane and Ed Polcer. The CD is available at any performance or via the web at www.cdbaby.com and iTunes.

For an updated calendar, check his web site at www.jonathanjazz.com.

Jonathan is currently in the eighth grade at Professional Childrens School in Manhattan. As with any other thirteen-year-old boy, he also enjoys video games.

Website www.jonathanjazz.com