Russell Malone

American jazz guitarist, born November 8, 1963, Albany, Georgia - died August 23, 2024, Tokyo, Japan.

A largely self-taught musician, Malone began his career in 1988 playing with Jimmy Smith. He went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr., and in 1995 became the guitarist for Diana Krall, participating on three Grammy-nominated albums. He performed on several of Benny Green's recordings in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The two formed a duo in 2003 and released two albums.

Malone died from a heart attack whilst on tour. He had been performing the previous week at the Blue Note Tokyo as part of Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio.