DON ELLIS (ca. 1970) Set of 2 photos

Carmichael, CA: Veryl Oakland, [ca. 1970]. Two (2) vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white print still photos, both with photographer stamps on verso, fine.

Two portraits of Don Ellis playing trumpet. Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his life he worked as a film composer, contributing a score to 1971’s The French Connection and 1973’s The Seven-Ups.

Columbia Records producer and A&R man John Hammond sought in 1967 to recruit the band for the label. The band was signed and in the studio in September 1967 to record Electric Bath, which was released the following year to wide acclaim, nominated for a Grammy award, and won the 1968 Down Beat “Album of the Year” award, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard jazz charts. The song “Indian Lady” became one of the band’s most popular tunes. “Open Beauty” featured Ellis in an echoplex trumpet solo, an innovative combination of acoustic instruments and electronic technology. Ellis would continue to develop the “electrophonic trumpet” over the next five years.