Biography

Trumpeter/composer/arranger/bandleader Don Ellis began his career playing with the likes of Glenn Miller, Charles Mingus, and George Russell in the 1950s. In the early ‘60s he formed his first groups, which explored novel avant-garde textures with such excellent players as Jaki Byard, Ron Carter, and Steve Swallow. At the same time, Ellis also showed a keen interest in Third Stream and Indian music, which he pursued with his Hindustani Jazz Sextet. But Ellis’s true métier was the big band. With the Don Ellis Orchestra, formed in 1965, the leader created his most memorable works, all of which reflected his adventurous--experimenting with radical time signatures, unusual instrumentation, electronics, and non-jazz genre elements. Ellis is also famous for writing the theme to the film THE FRENCH CONNECTION. He died of heart complications in 1978.

Top Tracks

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• 5/4 Getaway

• Bali Dancer

• Barnum's Revenge

• Bulgarian Bulge

• Chain Reaction

• Final Analysis

• Freedom Jazz Dance

• Hey Jude

• I Feel The Earth Move

• I Love Us

• Orientation

• Princess Leia's Theme

• Pussy Wiggle Stomp

• Put It Where You Want It

• Sadness Shouldn't Go So Deep

• Solo

• Strawberry Soup

• Tragedy

• Uh-huh

Discography

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• Pieces of Eight

  Wounded Bird Records

  2006

• Live at Montreux

  Atlantic

  1977

• Music from Other Galaxies and Planets

  Wounded Bird Records

  1977

• Soaring

  Universal Distribution

  1973

• Haiku

  Promising Music

  1973

• Connection

  Wounded Bird Records

  1972

• Tears of Joy

  Wounded Bird Records

  1971

• New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground

  Wounded Bird Records

  1969

• Live In 3 and 2/3/4 Time

  Pacific Jazz

  1966

• Jazz Jamboree (1962)

  Polish Musa

  1962