Talking With Russell Ferrante of the Yellowjackets, performing at The Smith Center April 20

This week, Ira spoke with Russell Ferrante of the Yellowjackets, performing in Myron’s at The Smith Center April 20. In this episode of “Talk About Las Vegas With Ira,” Russell talks about when he first got involved with music; the formation of the Yellowjackets; how fortunate he is to continue to play music; how he describes the band’s music, which is orig-inal and includes group improvisation; why it’s important to respect the music; striving to be “in the moment”; why the Great American Songbook is a jumping off point for jazz mu-sicians; why the band is leaderless; how the Yellowjackets got its name; what he learned from Clifford Coulter from the South Bay; why he also enjoys classical music and is “in awe” of classical composers; how time stops when the group is playing on stage; not letting perfection overwhelm the soul when recording; and meeting and working with some of his icons. (photo by Roberto Chifarelli)