Composer, arranger, trombonist and music educator Bill Russo was born in Chicago on June 25, 1928. During his career Russo composed more than 200 pieces for jazz ensemble and wrote four books about music composition and arranging.

Perhaps best known in the jazz realm for his work with the Stan Kenton Orchestra in the 1950s, Russo also collaborated with Billie Holiday, Cannonball Adderley and his idol Duke Ellington. After working with Kenton, Russo led his own 22 piece ensemble in New York for a few years.
In addition to his work in jazz, Bill Russo also wrote extensively for classical music groups and for the theater. In 1959 Leonard Bernstein commissioned a symphony by Russo that was performed by the New York Philharmonic and featured Maynard Ferguson as soloist. In 1973 the San Francisco Symphony recorded his piece Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra, and his 1968 opus The Civil War contrasted the American Civil War with the civil rights movement and unrest the country was experiencing at the time of its premiere.

In addition to his writing, Bill Russo founded the music department at Chicago’s Columbia College in 1965. Early in his time there he founded the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Russo continued as chair of the music department until shortly before his death from cancer in 2003.

Here is a link to a Bill Russo composition as performed by the Stan Kenton Orchestra:

"23 Degrees North - 82 Degrees West"