DON ELLIS AND HIS ORCHESTRA - Autumn
CBS Records 63503 Released 1968
Side A Tk 1) Variations For Trumpet 19m 23s, Tk 2) Scratt And Fluggs 1m 57s, Tk 3) Pussy Wiggle Stomp 6m 47s
Side B Tk 4) K.C. Blues 8m 44s, Tk 5) Child Of Extasy 3m 14s, Tk 6) Indian Lady 17m 42s
Personnel Tracks 4 & 6: Don Ellis (quarter tone tpt, amplified tpt), Ira Schulman (alt), Frank Stozier (alt), Sam Falzone (tnr), John Klemmer (tnr), John Magruder (bar, bs clt), Glenn Stuart (tpt), Stu' Blumberg (tpt, flg), John Rosenberg (tpt,flg), Bob Harmon (tpt,flg), Ernie Carlson (trom), Glenn Ferris (trom), Don Switzer (bs trom), Pete Robinson (clavinet, pno), Ray Neapolitan (bs, fender bs), Dave Parlato (bs), Ralph Humphrey (drs), Gene Strimling (perc), Lee Pastora ( conga).
Personnel Track 1: Ron Starr (alt, flt, piccolo, replaces Frank Stozier), Mike Lang (pno, clavinet, elc pno, replaces Pete Robinson) Add: Roger Bobo (Tuba), Mark Stevens (vbs, perc).
Personnel Tracks 2, 3 & 5: Frank Strozier (clt, alt , replaces Ira Schulman), Ron Starr (sop, alt, clt, Eb clt), Sam Falzone (sop, tnr, flt, clt), John Klemmer (Ten, clt), John Magruder ( bar, clt, A clt), Doug Bixby (tuba, replaces Roger Bobo), Terry Woodson ( bs trom, replaces Don Switzer), Pete Robinson ( prep pno, elp, clavinet, replaces Mike Lang).
Trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader, Don Ellis was during his short life, one of the most individually gifted, original and creative musicians to have graced world jazz. Best known for his big band albums during the sixties and early seventies, there was much more to this remarkable man. Born on 23rd July 1934 in Los Angeles, his early influences were Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. His first regular professional gigs were with The Glenn Miller Orchestra, under the direction of Ray McKinley. However his early stylistic turning point came after a meeting in Germany with U.S. piano great Cedar Walton while he was serving in the military. Upon returning to his homeland in fifty nine, he settled for a while in the Greenwich Village area of New York. He played with Maynard Ferguson's Orchestra for a time before helping to energise the small contemporary groups of Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy and George Russell. He then took his own band to Europe, where they received acclaim from both audiences and critics alike, before re- locating to America's west coast, where after becoming involved in the so called third stream music of the age, he led his own big band deeper into the fusion area of jazz and rock, playing at the famous Filmore Auditorium in San Francisco as support for The Grateful Dead among others in sixty seven. Moving to Columbia Records soon after, the band entered its most successful phase with the albums "Electric Bath", "Shock Treatment" and of course "Autumn". By this time Don was for the most part playing the four valved, electronically enhanced quarter tone trumpet to great effect as well as recruiting many of the young forward thinking musicians from the bay area and beyond, into the band's ranks. At the same time he was also writing music for films, the most notable being for both editions of "The French Connection". His band however had lost some of its momentum as far as jazz was concerned, by the mid seventies frequently stretching their boundaries into pure rock and even pop by this time. However at least a number of their recordings remain cornerstones of contemporary big band jazz to this day, not only for the quality of the musicianship, but also for the unique composing and arranging skills of their leader.
"Autumn" provides us with some of the major career statements from the band, combining studio takes with extracts from their legendary concert at Stanford University, California in sixty eight. First up is the iconic Variations For Trumpet, said by many to be the leaders finest work, for its ever changing time signatures, dramatic dialogue between the trumpet and orchestra plus sheer originality. You know that there is something special in the offing from the collective opening, an off the wall sound something like a jet engine rising into the clouds. The sound of the Don Ellis trumpet is majestic and unhurried to start with, tension and release abound as themes come and go in the exchanges, the pace quickens, the arranging is superb, the solo parts reach pyrotechnic levels to the rousing climax as the nineteen minutes and twenty three seconds pass in no time at all. After such an opening a necessary change of atmosphere was required and indeed supplied by the very brief Scratt And Fluggs featuring banjo, piano and trumpet, amidst uproarious encouragement from miscellaneous personnel gathered in the studio, followed by the ever popular Pussy Wiggle Stomp. This is a good humoured gospel and soul peace featuring Sam Falzone on tenor alongside the leader with its many (allegedly 47) false endings.
We are back to the epics as side two opens from the live Stanford session with Don's arrangement of the classic Charlie Parker tune K.C. Blues. This features a lengthy unaccompanied solo by Frank Strozier, not "Bird " like in any way but in the lucid and creative style that earned the man from Memphis much praise during his steller career. Pianist Pete Robinson and tenor saxophonist John Klemmer also get their chance to shine on this ever popular and exciting addition to the band's repertoire. Next up Glenn Stuart shows that his leader is not the only top trumpet man in the orchestra with his dramatic and dazzling play on a feature written for him by Don Ellis, the exotic Child Of Ecstasy, this is yet another spine tingler of a piece that also owes much of its success to the excellent arrangement of the supporting brass and reeds. The album closes back at the live California session with another Ellis lengthy masterpiece Indian Lady, that first appeared on the Grammy nominated and Downbeat album of the year "Electric Bath" issued earlier the same year. It's an amazing composition, a tour de force for the whole band, mostly at breakneck tempo over the eighteen minute playing time. There are far more than the Eastern influences here, with the individual solos as usual taken in the raw or with little accompaniment. Exotic passages, free form excursions and humour abound, driving the crowd to bouts of wild applause. John Klemmer and Sam Falzone dual on tenors. Pete Robinson takes the Fender piano to un-discovered places, while drummer Ralph Humphrey drives his fellow pair of percussionists on in their own fascinating battle. It's an exhausting end to an exciting album full of variety and entertainment in the extreme.
As for the leader himself Don Ellis, he sadly succumbed to his ongoing long term heart problems on December 17th 1978, aged only 44, but leaving behind his own very personal and indelible mark on jazz history.
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
This review is in regard to the original vinyl LP.
The music is also available as a CD on the Fivefour record label and various digital media platforms.
CBS Records 63503 Released 1968
Side A Tk 1) Variations For Trumpet 19m 23s, Tk 2) Scratt And Fluggs 1m 57s, Tk 3) Pussy Wiggle Stomp 6m 47s
Side B Tk 4) K.C. Blues 8m 44s, Tk 5) Child Of Extasy 3m 14s, Tk 6) Indian Lady 17m 42s
Personnel Tracks 4 & 6: Don Ellis (quarter tone tpt, amplified tpt), Ira Schulman (alt), Frank Stozier (alt), Sam Falzone (tnr), John Klemmer (tnr), John Magruder (bar, bs clt), Glenn Stuart (tpt), Stu' Blumberg (tpt, flg), John Rosenberg (tpt,flg), Bob Harmon (tpt,flg), Ernie Carlson (trom), Glenn Ferris (trom), Don Switzer (bs trom), Pete Robinson (clavinet, pno), Ray Neapolitan (bs, fender bs), Dave Parlato (bs), Ralph Humphrey (drs), Gene Strimling (perc), Lee Pastora ( conga).
Personnel Track 1: Ron Starr (alt, flt, piccolo, replaces Frank Stozier), Mike Lang (pno, clavinet, elc pno, replaces Pete Robinson) Add: Roger Bobo (Tuba), Mark Stevens (vbs, perc).
Personnel Tracks 2, 3 & 5: Frank Strozier (clt, alt , replaces Ira Schulman), Ron Starr (sop, alt, clt, Eb clt), Sam Falzone (sop, tnr, flt, clt), John Klemmer (Ten, clt), John Magruder ( bar, clt, A clt), Doug Bixby (tuba, replaces Roger Bobo), Terry Woodson ( bs trom, replaces Don Switzer), Pete Robinson ( prep pno, elp, clavinet, replaces Mike Lang).
Trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader, Don Ellis was during his short life, one of the most individually gifted, original and creative musicians to have graced world jazz. Best known for his big band albums during the sixties and early seventies, there was much more to this remarkable man. Born on 23rd July 1934 in Los Angeles, his early influences were Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. His first regular professional gigs were with The Glenn Miller Orchestra, under the direction of Ray McKinley. However his early stylistic turning point came after a meeting in Germany with U.S. piano great Cedar Walton while he was serving in the military. Upon returning to his homeland in fifty nine, he settled for a while in the Greenwich Village area of New York. He played with Maynard Ferguson's Orchestra for a time before helping to energise the small contemporary groups of Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy and George Russell. He then took his own band to Europe, where they received acclaim from both audiences and critics alike, before re- locating to America's west coast, where after becoming involved in the so called third stream music of the age, he led his own big band deeper into the fusion area of jazz and rock, playing at the famous Filmore Auditorium in San Francisco as support for The Grateful Dead among others in sixty seven. Moving to Columbia Records soon after, the band entered its most successful phase with the albums "Electric Bath", "Shock Treatment" and of course "Autumn". By this time Don was for the most part playing the four valved, electronically enhanced quarter tone trumpet to great effect as well as recruiting many of the young forward thinking musicians from the bay area and beyond, into the band's ranks. At the same time he was also writing music for films, the most notable being for both editions of "The French Connection". His band however had lost some of its momentum as far as jazz was concerned, by the mid seventies frequently stretching their boundaries into pure rock and even pop by this time. However at least a number of their recordings remain cornerstones of contemporary big band jazz to this day, not only for the quality of the musicianship, but also for the unique composing and arranging skills of their leader.
"Autumn" provides us with some of the major career statements from the band, combining studio takes with extracts from their legendary concert at Stanford University, California in sixty eight. First up is the iconic Variations For Trumpet, said by many to be the leaders finest work, for its ever changing time signatures, dramatic dialogue between the trumpet and orchestra plus sheer originality. You know that there is something special in the offing from the collective opening, an off the wall sound something like a jet engine rising into the clouds. The sound of the Don Ellis trumpet is majestic and unhurried to start with, tension and release abound as themes come and go in the exchanges, the pace quickens, the arranging is superb, the solo parts reach pyrotechnic levels to the rousing climax as the nineteen minutes and twenty three seconds pass in no time at all. After such an opening a necessary change of atmosphere was required and indeed supplied by the very brief Scratt And Fluggs featuring banjo, piano and trumpet, amidst uproarious encouragement from miscellaneous personnel gathered in the studio, followed by the ever popular Pussy Wiggle Stomp. This is a good humoured gospel and soul peace featuring Sam Falzone on tenor alongside the leader with its many (allegedly 47) false endings.
We are back to the epics as side two opens from the live Stanford session with Don's arrangement of the classic Charlie Parker tune K.C. Blues. This features a lengthy unaccompanied solo by Frank Strozier, not "Bird " like in any way but in the lucid and creative style that earned the man from Memphis much praise during his steller career. Pianist Pete Robinson and tenor saxophonist John Klemmer also get their chance to shine on this ever popular and exciting addition to the band's repertoire. Next up Glenn Stuart shows that his leader is not the only top trumpet man in the orchestra with his dramatic and dazzling play on a feature written for him by Don Ellis, the exotic Child Of Ecstasy, this is yet another spine tingler of a piece that also owes much of its success to the excellent arrangement of the supporting brass and reeds. The album closes back at the live California session with another Ellis lengthy masterpiece Indian Lady, that first appeared on the Grammy nominated and Downbeat album of the year "Electric Bath" issued earlier the same year. It's an amazing composition, a tour de force for the whole band, mostly at breakneck tempo over the eighteen minute playing time. There are far more than the Eastern influences here, with the individual solos as usual taken in the raw or with little accompaniment. Exotic passages, free form excursions and humour abound, driving the crowd to bouts of wild applause. John Klemmer and Sam Falzone dual on tenors. Pete Robinson takes the Fender piano to un-discovered places, while drummer Ralph Humphrey drives his fellow pair of percussionists on in their own fascinating battle. It's an exhausting end to an exciting album full of variety and entertainment in the extreme.
As for the leader himself Don Ellis, he sadly succumbed to his ongoing long term heart problems on December 17th 1978, aged only 44, but leaving behind his own very personal and indelible mark on jazz history.
Reviewed by Jim Burlong
This review is in regard to the original vinyl LP.
The music is also available as a CD on the Fivefour record label and various digital media platforms.
