Q: What do Bill Millay and John Barry have in common (besides a girl named M****)?
A: They both studied orchestration with Bill Russo.


Bill Russo was a trombonist/composer/arranger in Stan Kenton's band. He was the head of the music department at Columbia College when I met him. He had an understanding of all forms of music, was a musicians' musician, and gave great advice.

He deserves a lot of behind-the-scenes credit, and he was an inspiration to many.