Don Ellis

Don Ellis stood out as a trumpeter whose inventive musical outlook and appetite for experimentation enabled him to direct some of the era’s most striking large ensembles from 1965 to 1975. After completing his studies at Boston University, he worked in the orchestras of Ray McKinley, Charlie Barnet, and Maynard Ferguson, where he was featured on “Three More Foxes.” He also recorded with Charles Mingus and performed in George Russell’s sextet during the period when Eric Dolphy was a member.

Between 1960 and 1962 Ellis led four dates with quartets and trios for Candid, New Jazz, and Pacific Jazz, fusing bop, free jazz, and modern classical elements. His real breakthrough arrived in 1965 once he assembled his first full orchestra and began attracting wider notice in jazz circles.

What set Ellis’s bands apart were their unorthodox personnel—early versions employed as many as three bassists and three drummers, Ellis among them—together with a fascination for irregular meters such as 7/8, 9/8, and 15/16. The groups further distinguished themselves through playful humor marked by repeated false endings and a readiness to incorporate rock rhythms and, in time, electronic resources. Ellis designed a four-valve trumpet and, by the close of the 1960s, was deploying ring modulators along with an array of other unconventional electronic devices.

By 1971 the ensemble comprised an eight-piece brass section that included French horn and tuba, a four-piece woodwind section, a string quartet, and a two-drum rhythm section. One later, unrecorded edition added a vocal quartet.

Sidemen who passed through the ranks included Glenn Ferris, Tom Scott, John Klemmer, Sam Falzone, Frank Strozier, Dave MacKay, and the outstanding pianist Milcho Leviev, who arrived directly from Bulgaria. The orchestra’s most enduring Columbia recordings remain Autumn, Live at the Fillmore, and Tears of Joy.

After a heart attack in the mid-1970s, Ellis resumed live work, now playing the superbone, and a subsequent version of the band featured Art Pepper. His final recording was made at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival; he died the following year when his heart failed.