Chris Ellis (music producer)

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Christoper R. "Chris" Ellis (born December 25, 1928 in Shrewsbury ; † January 2019 ) was a British jazz musician ( vocals ) and music producer .

Live and act

Ellis attended the Lancastrian School and Technical College. As a jazz singer , he was part of the bands of Kath Connon, Nesta and Denys Bennet at the beginning of his professional career, before he founded the Magnolia Jazz Band , which he led with Mike Farren. In 1958 he moved to London and worked at EMI Records in the marketing department for the pop area. He also created the World Records label , which featured the Golden Age of British Dance Bands series. At EMI he was also responsible for re-releases in the jazz area; u. a. He has overseen recordings by Ginger Rogers , Elaine Stritch , Dick Sudhalter , Keith Nichols , Keith Ingham and Susannah McCorkle . He also presented nostalgia series on BBC Radio 2 and worked with the Noel Gay Music Company, u. a. on the show Me and My Girl (1984), which ran in the UK for eight years and received two Laurence Olivier Awards . As a recognized expert on classical jazz singing, Ellis appeared in various venues in London, also on radio, television and took part in recordings, such as with Alan Elsdon (1967), Digby Fairweather (1979). In 1987 he put on his only album Vocal with Hot Accomp (Dormouse Records), with Digby Fairweather, Martin Litton (piano), Paul Sealey (guitar) and Tiny Winters (bass) contributing. In 1991 he performed with The Moonlight Broadcasters at the 21st International Traditional Jazz Festival Breda . In the field of jazz, he was involved in 16 recording sessions between 1966 and 1999.

In 1991 Ellis moved to Amsterdam, where he co-founded the jazz label Challenge Records with Anne de Jong . In addition, he ran his own reissue label Retrieval as the successor to John RT Davies . Shortly before his death in early 2019, he was working on his last production, Johnny Mercer 1932–1942; Singin, swinging songwriter .

Discographic notes

  • Something Bold, Something Blue: Butch Kinsey and His Intimate Friends (1966)
  • Sudhalter & Son: Music For All Occasions: The Anglo-American All-Stars (1967), with Al and Dick Sudhalter
  • Digby Fairweather, John Barnes & Martin Litton and Fairweather's Friends Moon Country (1999)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Shrewsbury Jazz Club founder dies aged 90. shropshirestar, January 21, 2019, accessed on January 21, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed January 21, 2019)
personal data
SURNAME Ellis, Chris
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ellis, Christopher R.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British jazz musician and record producer
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Shrewsbury
DATE OF DEATH January 2019