BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Full Name: Mitchell Herbert Ellis
Description: Guitarist, USA
Known For: Known for his 1950`s membership in the trio of pianist Oscar Peterson
Instruments: Guitar
Music Styles: Mainstream jazz, Swing,West Coast jazz,
Location: United States of America
Date Born: 4th August 1921
Location Born: Farmersville, Texas, United States of America
Date Died: 28th March 2010
Location Died: Los Angeles, California, United States of America
Cause Of Death: Alzheimer
CONTACT DETAILS
Web Site:
- Herb Ellis on the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame website
- Biography at Classic Jazz Guitar.
- Keith Thursby, “Herb Ellis dies at 88; jazz guitarist”,
Other Links: For other links see below:
YOUTUBE VIDEO
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Herb Ellis
An American jazz guitarist.
Mitchell Herbert “Herb” Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010) was an American jazz guitarist. Perhaps best known for his 1950s membership in the trio of pianist Oscar Peterson, Ellis was also a staple of west-coast studio recording sessions, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as “an excellent bop-based guitarist with a slight country twang to his sound.”
Perhaps best known for his 1950’s membership in the trio of pianist Oscar Peterson, Ellis was also a staple of west-coast studio recording sessions, and was described by critic Scott Yannow as “an excellent bop-based guitarist with a slight country twang to his sound.”
Born in Farmersville, Texas and raised in the suburbs of Dallas, Ellis first heard the electric guitar performed by George Barnes on a radio program.
In 1943, he joined Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra and it was with Gray’s band that he got his first recognition in the jazz magazines. After Gray’s band, Ellis joined the Jimmy Dorsey band where he played some of his first recorded solos. Ellis remained with Dorsey through 1947.
Joining The Soft winds group:
The Soft Winds group was fashioned after the Nat King Cole Trio.
They stayed together until 1952. Ellis then joined the Oscar Peterson Trio (replacing Barney Kessel), forming what Scott Yanow would later on refer to as “one of the most memorable of all the piano, guitar, and bass trios in jazz history”.
Ellis became prominent after performing with the Oscar Peterson Trio from 1953 to 1958 along with pianist Peterson and bassist Ray Brown.
With drummer Buddy Rich, they were also the backing band for popular “comeback” albums by the duet of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
Ellis left the Peterson Trio in November 1958, to be replaced not by a guitarist, but by drummer Ed Thigpen.
The years of 1959 through 1960 found Ellis touring with Ella Fitzgerald.
With fellow jazz guitarists Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd and Tal Farlow, he created another ensemble, the Great Guitars.
Ellis died of Alzheimer’s disease at his Los Angeles home on the morning of March 28, 2010, at the age of 88.
Discography
As leader
Ellis in Wonderland (1956)
I Love John Frigo…He Swings (1957)
Nothing But the Blues (Verve, 1957) with Eldridge, Stan Getz, Peterson, Ray Brown, Stan Levey, Gus Johnson
Herb Ellis Meets Jimmy Giuffre (1959)
Thank you Charlie Christian (1960)
Softly… But with That Feeling (1962)
The Midnight Roll (Epic, 1962), with Ray Bryant, Israel Crosby, Jimmy Rowser, Gus Johnson, Roy Eldridge, Frank Assunto, and Buddy Tate
Jazz/Concord (Concord, 1972) with Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Jake Hanna
Seven, Come Eleven (1973)
Two for the Road (1974) with Joe Pass
Herb Ellis & Ray Brown’s Soft Shoe (Concord, 1974) with Harry Sweets Edison, George Duke
Hot Tracks (Concord, 1975) with Sweets Edison, Plas Johnson, Monty Budwig, Jake Hanna
Soft & Mellow (Concord, 1978)
Hello Herbie (PA USA, 1981) with Oscar Peterson
When You’re Smiling (Atlas, 1983)
Sweet and Lovely (Atlas, 1983)
Doggin’ Around (Concord, 1988) Duo with Red Mitchell
Roll Call (Justice, 1991) with Melvin Rhyne
An Evening with Herb Ellis (Jazz Focus, 1995) with Chuck Israels
Joe’s Blues (Laserlight, 1998) with Joe Pass
Texas Swings (Justice,1992)
As sideman
With Mel Brown
Chicken Fat (Impulse!, 1967)
With Dizzy Gillespie
Roy and Diz (Clef, 1954) – with Roy Eldridge
For Musicians Only (Verve, 1956) – with Stan Getz and Sonny Stitt
With Gábor Szabó
Wind, Sky and Diamonds (Impulse!, 1967)
With Oscar Peterson
At the Stratford Shakespearean Festival
Links:
- Herb Ellis at Find a Grave
- Herb Ellis on the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame website
- Biography at Classic Jazz Guitar.
- Keith Thursby, “Herb Ellis dies at 88; jazz guitarist”, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2010.
- Peter Keepnews, “Herb Ellis, Jazz Guitarist, Is Dead at 88”, New York Times, March 30, 2010.
- “Herb Ellis” (obituary), Daily Telegraph, April 5, 2010.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia