After the trumpeter leader Don Ellis' death after suffering a massive heart attack in 1978 at the age of 44, the band seems to have had its fame extinguished along with its leader.
I think that had Ellis lived and the band continued, eventually Ellis would have received a lot more recognition.
Don Ellis could have been a house hold name, He did the film score for the Oscar winning The French Connection, as well as a similar Roy Scheider vehicle The 7 Ups. What I like about Don Ellis the most is his sense of humor, he really doesn't take himself too seriously, as many jazz musicians in particular can.
I like the jovial way Don would introduce songs, especially those with unorthodox time signatures. Many a critic at the time did not warm up to this part of Don's personality, go figure?
Don did a few live albums for Pacific Jazz, Live at Monterey being the one that put the orchestra on the map. That success drew the eye of John Hammond of Columbia Records, where don put together the orchestra's first studio album Electric Bath.
I still believe Electric Bath is Don's Magnum Opus, an album that fused the Middle Eastern and Indian styles Don was into with just enough of a pop sensibility to make the album and the orchestra a pretty big hit, and an even bigger hit on college campuses.
Don was also an above average trumpet player who cut his teeth in the bands of George Russel in the early 60's. One such record was Ezz-thetics, an album that also included the great altoist Eric Dolphy.
The Highlight of this album Electric Bath is "Turkish Bath" I just love Ray Neapolitan's sitar throughout the track, the music feels like it could derail at any moment, as it ebbs and flows nearly out of control, such is the complexity.
The entire album actually feels this way, the difficult time signatures on the edge of what these musicians could accomplish I suppose, but accomplish they did.
"Open Beauty" is an important track as Don uses an atmospheric back drop to highlight his echo-plex electric trumpet, and the music sounds more like something Miles Davis would do a year later on In a Silent Way, yet another example of how Don's innovation and ultimate genius goes unnoticed even today.
Every single track on Electric Bath is a keeper, no filler at all. This particular vinyl copy will run you in the $10-15 range for a VG+ or better copy, the reissue CD also sounds
remarkable.
If you like modern progressive big band, don't allow the Don Ellis Orchestra to slip through the cracks of your music listening play lists.
You should have this featured album, as well as the Pacific albums, and Soaring from MPS records. All of Don's albums are worth exploring.
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