Career
Named Russell William Wagner at birth, when he decided to become a classical music composer, he dropped his last name—as it already "was taken" by Richard Wagner. These performances took place under the auspices of the Pan-American Association of s, an organization that was composed of Cowell, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Edgard Varèse, Slonimsky, and other luminaries of American ultramodernism. Bill Russell also was one of the leading authorities on early New Orleans jazz.
He authored articles and books, including three essays in the milestone book, Jazzmen and the voluminous 720-page Jelly Roll Morton scrapbook, Oh, Mister Jelly. and he made many recordings of historical interest.
Russell founded American Music Records, which helped bring many forgotten New Orleans performers, including Bunk Johnson, back to public attention. He became an important force in the New Orleans jazz revival of the early 1940s.
He moved to New Orleans in 1956, settling in the French Quarter, where he opened a small record shop and from which, he also performed violin repairs. Russell also played violin with the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra.
In 1958, Russell co-founded and became the first curator of The Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University.
Russell collected a large quantity of material related to the history of New Orleans, early jazz, ragtime, blues, and gospel music, all of which he kept in his French Quarter apartment. During his lifetime he always was willing to share access to the material with serious researchers. At his death, August 9, 1992, he left the collection to The Historic New Orleans Collection, where it continues to be a valuable resource for researchers.
His obituary in The Times noted that: "Russell was the single most influential figure in the revival of New Orleans jazz that began in the 1940s.".
