Don Ellis?

[arrow 68]

Anybody familiar with Don Ellis? "Live At The Fillmore" is awesome. I know I posted it in one thread already, but I wanted to make sure it was seen. I am sure this is not for everyone. But if it was, I wouldn't be posting it.

 

[slow_jazz]

never heard of him. what style is he??

 

[tentoze]

And still never heard of him.

 

[arrow 68]

Wow. Never heard of Don Ellis? Well now is the time to get familiar. And then again you may not like him. Get Live At The Fillmore. Just Do It! Read the Free Jazz Thread After 1970.

 

[shrinkboy]

ellis was a kinda left field jazz trumpeter who played around with electronic treatments of his sound and also forayed into what is now called 'world' music.

 

[arrow 68]

Live At The Fillmore is far from World Music. He veered off in this direction not long before he death at 42. I had forgoten about him until recently. I had not heard any of his music in almost 20 years.

 

[fdrennen]

I remember him well from the sixties. One of my favorites of his was his Live In 3 2/3/4 Time Pacific Jazz ST-20123 (1967), which featured music arranged in odd meters, one tune Barnum's Revenge IIRC was a 7/4 treatment of "(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey".
It's available from http://www.donellismusic.com/Ellis_Recordings/Live_in_3_2_3_4_Time/live_in_3_2_3_4_time.html

 

[Forster]

Yes, Ellis was quite the innovator. He played a four-valve trumpet which gave his playing an extra, and very interesting dimension.

His musical eccentricity seems to have acted as a barrier to getting the exposure and fame he deserved, because his big-band arrangments were absolutely superb. A very underrated musician imho.

I have a few of his LP's including 'Electric Bath' ( re-issued on CD ) , which is probably his most accessible album, the perfect blend of jazz and rock and still play it fairly regularly.

Cheers - Forster

 

[fdrennen]

I remember him well from the sixties. One of my favorites of his was his Live In 3 2/3/4 Time Pacific Jazz ST-20123 (1967), which featured music arranged in odd meters, one tune Barnum's Revenge IIRC was a 7/4 treatment of "(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey".

"Barnum's Revenge" now that I remember is the tune that was in 3& 2/3 quarter time. He counted it off with something like "sock-it-to-me, sock, sock, sock-it to me!"

 

[salred]

Tears of Joy

A high school friend with a jazz musician father introduced me to Ellis in 1970 or so. "Tears of Joy" is/was a double-LP with tunes in various meters. There was one number, Bulgarian Bulge, that was a wild ride through very strange time signatures: 33/8, 37/8, etc.

Thanks for the reminder -- I see that the CD of Tears of Joy is available on Amazon for a stiff price, but I may just have to spring for it.

I guess "new wave big band" might characterize his music...

Steve A.