Herb Ellis

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Herb Ellis

Mitchell Herbert Ellis (born August 4, 1921 in Farmersville , Texas , † March 28, 2010 in Los Angeles ) was an American jazz guitarist.

Live and act

Ellis played the harmonica and banjo as a child and had bought an electric guitar as a teenager - inspired by George Barnes , who was of the same age ; Charlie Christian was an early role model . He later reported:

“The first time I heard Charlie I wasn't impressed because I thought I could play faster than him. But after a few times it hit me like a blow when I realized that speed isn't everything. I wanted to put the guitar aside, but instead tried to play like him. "

He studied from 1941 to 1943 at North Texas State University , at the same time as Jimmy Giuffre , Gene Roland and Harry Babasin . In 1943 he became a member of Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra and then joined Jimmy Dorsey's Big Band. In 1947 he founded the trio The Soft Winds with Lou Carter and Johnny Frigo , which existed until 1953; best known piece of the formation was "Detour Ahead". He then belonged to the Oscar Peterson Trio until 1958 , where he replaced Barney Kessel . Ellis then worked with Ella Fitzgerald for four years and performed with her at the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts. As early as 1957/58, “the classic Herb Ellis album Nothin 'But the Blues ” was created at Verve with well-known musicians such as Roy Eldridge , Coleman Hawkins , Stan Getz , Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Brown .

In the 1960s, he worked primarily as a studio musician in Los Angeles and appeared on television shows by Steve Allen , Regis Philbin , Joey Bishop and Merv Griffin . In the 1970s he was a member of the Great Guitars (with Barney Kessel and Charlie Byrd ) and worked with Joe Pass . A number of albums were also created under his own name for Concord Jazz . In the 1990s he appeared again with Oscar Peterson . He had one of his last appearances in 1995, u. a. with Chuck Israels . He died of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Throughout his career, he has worked with the likes of Oscar Peterson , Dizzy Gillespie , Coleman Hawkins , Roy Eldridge , Della Reese , Steve Allen , Red Skelton and Danny Kaye .

Appreciation

In his obituary, Oliver Hochkeppel pays tribute to the guitarist: “(...) what the guitar had to offer in jazz came together in his playing: the highly virtuoso single-note runs that made it an equal melody instrument , the versatility in the atmospheric, from the Melancholy of the blues to the fire of hard bop , but also the power to be the rhythmic foundation, the swing of a band. "

Discography

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Reclams Jazz Lexikon, 2nd edition 2009, p. 163
  2. ↑ a b Oliver Hochkeppel, p. 14.
  3. ^ Cook & Morton, p. 468.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ellis, Herb
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ellis, Mitchell Herbert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Farmersville , Texas
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 2010
Place of death los Angeles