Pee Wee Ellis
Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis (* 21st April 1941 in Bradenton in Florida ) is an American jazz - saxophonist , composer and arranger.
Ellis grew up in Texas and took piano, clarinet and saxophone lessons, some of them from Sonny Rollins . In the 1960s and 1970s he was a permanent saxophonist with James Brown , with whom he played from 1965 and of whose band he was musical director from 1967 to 1969. He also composed and arranged for James Brown. From 1969 to 1975 he was arranger for Esther Phillips . He often worked with Van Morrison , including Blood, Sweat & Tears , in 1976 with Dave Liebman in San Francisco, in the 1980s with Roberta Flack and George Benson , among others . He later formed The JB's with his partners Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley , with whom he was with James Brown, and in 1988 the JB Horns, which also released records as Roots Revisited . He has released several solo albums since the 1990s.
Discography (excerpt)
- 1992: Blues Mission ( Gramavision )
- 1993: Twelve and More Blues ( Minor Music )
- 1994: Sepia Tonality (Minor Music)
- 1995: Yellin Blue
- 1996: A New Shift (Minor Music)
- 1997: What You Like (Minor Music)
- 2000: Ridin Mighty High ( Skip Records )
- 2001: Live and Funky (Skip Records)
- 2005: Different Rooms (Skip Records)
- 2011: Tenoration (Art of Groove, MIG-Music)
- 2013: The Spirit of Christmas (Minor Music)
- 2015: The Cologne Concerts (Minor Music)
- 2018: In My Ellingtonian Mood with Danny Grissett (Minor Music)
- 2019: Spirit of Christmas Deluxe Edition Download Only (Minor Music)
Pee Wee Ellis & James Brown
- Star Time - the definitive 4 CD retrospective of James Brown's career
Pee Wee Ellis and the JB Horns
- 1989: Finally Getting Paid (Minor Music)
- 1991: Pee Wee, Fred and Maceo (Gramavision)
- 1993: Funky Good Time-Live (Gramavision)
- 1994: I Like It Like That
With Van Morrison
- 1979: Into the Music (Polydor)
- 1980: Common One (Polydor)
- 1982: Beautiful Vision (Polydor)
- 1983: Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (Polydor)
- 1985: A Sense of Wonder (Polydor)
- 1997: The Healing Game (Exile)
literature
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 .
Web links
- Works by and about Pee Wee Ellis in the catalog of the German National Library
- Pee Wee Ellis on Allmusic (English)
- Interview at allaboutjazz.com (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ellis, Pee Wee |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ellis, Alfred (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American saxophonist with James Brown and member of the spin-off group The JB's, composer and arranger |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 21, 1941 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bradenton , Florida |