Don Elliott
Don Elliott (born October 21, 1926 in Somerville (New Jersey) as Don Elliott Helfman , † July 5, 1984 in Weston (Connecticut) ) was an American jazz trumpeter , flugelhorn player , vibraphonist , singer and mellophone player as well as composer , arranger and producer .
Live and act
Don Elliott took piano and accordion lessons as a child, played the mellophone in the high school band, and later played the trumpet in the US Army. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music and Arrangement at the University of Miami ; he began his professional career as a vibraphonist. In 1948 he played in the Jan Raye Trio, was a singer in the formation Hi, Lo, Jack & The Dame in 1948/49 and played as a trumpeter and vibraphonist for a radio station. 1950/51 he worked with George Shearing , Teddy Wilson , Terry Gibbs and Buddy Rich ; after that he formed his own band and recorded the album Tenderly with Bill Evans . He was also involved in recordings with Paul Desmond , Urbie Green , Michel Legrand , Billy Eckstine , Ruby Braff , Miles Davis and Jackie McLean . From 1953 to 1960 he won the Down Beat Readers Poll several times as a mellophone player in the category "miscellaneous instrument".
In addition to his main instruments, trumpet / flugelhorn, mellophone and vibraphone, Elliott played the trombone and percussion , and he was also a singer . Elliott was a pioneer of multi-track recording technology (he mixed his voice into polyphonic choirs), composed countless advertising jingles, worked on film scripts and as a composer on Broadway (theater) .
Elliott's use of voices can be heard in his band project The Nutty Squirrels , in various film soundtracks such as in the films Getaway , The Robbery of Millions , Four Weird Birds and The Happy Hooker . Elliott owned recording studios in New York City and Weston, Connecticut. In the course of his career he recorded over 60 albums and 5000 commercial jingles .
Don Elliott was married to the actress Doris Wiss (1929–2015) from Düsseldorf.
Selection discography
- As a leader
- Counterpoint for Six Valves ( Riverside Records , 1955)
- New Counterpoint for Six Valves (Riverside Records, 1956)
- Double Trumpet Doings ( Jazzland Records , 1960)
- As a sideman
- Phil Bodner & Company: Fine & Dandy (Stash)
- Miles Davis : Quintet with Lee Konitz , Quartet with Jackie McLean (Fresh Sound Rec., 1948/1952)
- Paul Desmond: Quinet / Quartet featuring Don Elliott (OJC, 1956–57)
- Billy Eckstine: Basin Street East (Emercy, 1961)
- Bill Evans & Don Elliott: Tenderly (Milestone, 1956-1957)
- Urbie Green: Newport Jazz Festival 1958 (Phontastic)
- Michel Legrand: Legrand Jazz (Philips, 1958)
- George Shearing: Verve Jazz Masters (Verve, 199-54)
literature
- Carlo Bohländer , Karl Heinz Holler, Christian Pfarr: Reclam's Jazz Guide . 4th, revised and supplemented edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-15-010355-X .
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon . Rowohlt, Reinbek 1988
- Bielefeld catalog jazz 1988 & 2001
Web links
- Biography, Don Elliott: He Was a Gentlemen, too at middlehornleader.com
- Don Elliott at allmusic
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.downbeat.com Winner Down Beat Readers Poll
- ↑ Obituary: Doris Elliott, actress, wife of jazz musician ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Doris Wiss at imdb
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Elliott, Don |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Helfman, Don Elliott (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 21, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Somerville, New Jersey |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th July 1984 |
| Place of death | Weston (Connecticut) |