Max Ellen

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Max Ellen (born August 19, 1926 in Hamburg ; † September 9, 2014 ) was a German-American violinist who worked in the New York music industry as a studio musician in numerous productions in the fields of pop, fusion and jazz music.

Life

Ellen came from a Hamburg family of actors. He was a student of Henry Drobachevsky, conductor of the Luxembourg Orchestra , who was murdered in the Holocaust . Ellen survived the Holocaust and arrived as a refugee on December 3, 1941 in a camp in New York. After drafting and doing military service in World War II, he began a career as a violinist. At first he played in the Yiddish Music Theater with Ida Kaminska, in the clubs Chez Vito and Copacabana ; he also played in classical string quartets and orchestras. On Broadway in New York, he appeared in the shows Sweet Charity (with Gwen Verdon ) and in the New American Orchestra with Jack Elliott .

In addition, Ellen was a frequently requested session musician on numerous recordings in the New York studio, including recordings by Judy Garland , Ella Fitzgerald , Sarah Vaughan , Frank Sinatra , Nat King Cole , James Brown , Roberta Flack , Patti Austin , Randy Newman and Blood , Sweat & Tears . Ellen also worked with Rudy Van Gelder on his productions for the label CTI Records of musicians such as George Benson , Hank Crawford , Eumir Deodato ( Prelude ), Freddie Hubbard , Milt Jackson , Bob James , Hubert Laws or Grover Washington, Jr. Alone in the field of jazz and fusion, he was involved in 107 recording sessions between 1972 and 1997. He also worked as arranger for the pop band Vanity Fare , for television commercials and participated in the recordings of Harry Nilsson , which were used in Asphalt-Cowboy (1969).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Obituary at the Local 802 musicians' union
  2. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed December 8, 2014)
personal data
SURNAME Ellen, Max
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American violinist
DATE OF BIRTH August 19, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH September 9, 2014