Pee Wee Ellis
Encyclopedia
Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis (born April 21, 1941) is an American
saxophonist, composer
and arranger
. He was an important member of James Brown
's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings. He also worked closely with Van Morrison
.
In later years, he became a resident of England, living in the town of Frome
in the county of Somerset
.
, Ellis's family moved to Lubbock, Texas
in 1949, where he was given his nickname "Pee Wee". He gave his first public performance in 1954 at Dunbar Junior High School. In 1955 he moved with his family to Rochester, New York
. While attending Madison High School he played professionally with jazz musicians like Ron Carter
and Chuck Mangione
. In 1957 he moved to New York City
, where he attended Manhattan School of Music
and had regular lessons with Sonny Rollins
. In 1960 he moved back to Florida
working as a bandleader, musical director and writer.
Ellis played with the James Brown
Revue from 1965 to 1969. While with Brown he arranged and co-wrote hits like "Cold Sweat
" and "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud
". In 1969 he returned to New York City. He worked as an arranger and musical director for CTI Records
' Kudu label, collaborating with artists like George Benson
, Hank Crawford
and Esther Phillips
. In the late 1970s he moved to San Francisco and formed a band with former Miles Davis
sideman David Liebman. Between 1979 and 1986 he worked with Van Morrison
's band as an arranger and musical director and then again from 1995 through 1999. He also gave occasional performances in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2006 as guest appearance
s.
In the late 1980s Pee Wee regrouped with some musicians he worked with during his time with James Brown
to form the JB Horns. With Fred Wesley
and Maceo Parker
he recorded a number of albums that defined a distinctive brand of jazz-funk
. The group also toured in Europe.
In 1992 Pee Wee resumed his solo recording career.
Ellis's composition "The Chicken" was made famous by the electric bass
player Jaco Pastorius
, who recorded it on his album The Birthday Concert
, as well as Invitation.
In 1995, showing the diversity of his musical interests and talents, Ellis played tenor sax and arranged the horns for the album Worotan, by Mali's Oumou Sangare, the so-called "Songbird of Wassoulou".
In 2009 Pee Wee toured a tribute to James Brown called "Still Black Still Proud". He performed this with special guests Mahotella Queens
and Ghanaian born rapper Ty at the Frome Festival
on July 12, 2009, and again in a series of concerts in Europe during April and May 2010.
In July 2010 Pee Wee participated in Brass: Durham International Festival 2010. This involved Ellis working with a selection of local youth ensembles and culminated in a concert at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Monday 5 July. Later that week, on Thursday 8 July, Pee Wee took to the stage as a special guest of Maceo Parker and his band. The concert was held at the Gala Theatre Durham and Ellis linked up with his old band friend Maceo to perform 2 songs, playing his signature baritone sax next to Maceo's tenor sax. In August 2010 he played at the 27th Brecon Jazz Festival. Pee Wee is scheduled to join Maceo and Fred Wesley on Jam Cruise in January 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
saxophonist, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
. He was an important member of James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings. He also worked closely with Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
.
In later years, he became a resident of England, living in the town of Frome
Frome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
in the county of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
Biography
Born in Bradenton, FloridaBradenton, Florida
Bradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's 2007 population to be 53,471. Bradenton is the largest Principal City of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2007 estimated population of 682,833...
, Ellis's family moved to Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
in 1949, where he was given his nickname "Pee Wee". He gave his first public performance in 1954 at Dunbar Junior High School. In 1955 he moved with his family to Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. While attending Madison High School he played professionally with jazz musicians like Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
and Chuck Mangione
Chuck Mangione
Charles Frank "Chuck" Mangione is an American flugelhorn player and composer who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-pop single, "Feels So Good." Mangione has released more than thirty albums since 1960.-Early life and career:...
. In 1957 he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he attended Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
and had regular lessons with Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
. In 1960 he moved back to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
working as a bandleader, musical director and writer.
Ellis played with the James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
Revue from 1965 to 1969. While with Brown he arranged and co-wrote hits like "Cold Sweat
Cold Sweat
"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written by his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a #1 R&B hit, and reached number seven on the Pop Singles chart...
" and "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud
Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud
"Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a funk song written and recorded by James Brown in 1968. It is notable both as one of Brown's signature songs and as one of the most popular Black Power anthems of the 1960s. The song was released as a two-part single which held the number-one spot on the...
". In 1969 he returned to New York City. He worked as an arranger and musical director for CTI Records
CTI Records
CTI Records was a jazz record label founded in 1967 by producer/A&R manager Creed Taylor. Initially, CTI was a subsidiary of A&M Records, but the label went independent in 1970...
' Kudu label, collaborating with artists like George Benson
George Benson
George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
, Hank Crawford
Hank Crawford
Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. was an American R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, soul jazz alto saxophonist, arranger and songwriter...
and Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips was an American singer. Phillips was known for her R&B vocals, but she was a versatile singer, also performing pop, country, jazz, blues and soul music.-Early life:...
. In the late 1970s he moved to San Francisco and formed a band with former Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
sideman David Liebman. Between 1979 and 1986 he worked with Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
's band as an arranger and musical director and then again from 1995 through 1999. He also gave occasional performances in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2006 as guest appearance
Guest appearance
In show business , a guest appearance is a participation of an outsider performer , usually called guest artist , in an event , i.e., the participation of a performer which does not belong to the regular crew In performance...
s.
In the late 1980s Pee Wee regrouped with some musicians he worked with during his time with James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
to form the JB Horns. With Fred Wesley
Fred Wesley
Fred Wesley is an American jazz and funk trombonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
and Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
he recorded a number of albums that defined a distinctive brand of jazz-funk
Jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a sub-genre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat , electrified sounds, and often, the presence of the first electronic analog synthesizers...
. The group also toured in Europe.
In 1992 Pee Wee resumed his solo recording career.
Ellis's composition "The Chicken" was made famous by the electric bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
, who recorded it on his album The Birthday Concert
The Birthday Concert
The Birthday Concert is a live album by Jaco Pastorius, recorded in Florida in 1981 in celebration of the bassman's 30th year. It was released posthumously by Warner Bros. on Sept...
, as well as Invitation.
In 1995, showing the diversity of his musical interests and talents, Ellis played tenor sax and arranged the horns for the album Worotan, by Mali's Oumou Sangare, the so-called "Songbird of Wassoulou".
In 2009 Pee Wee toured a tribute to James Brown called "Still Black Still Proud". He performed this with special guests Mahotella Queens
Mahotella Queens
The Mahotella Queens are a South African singing group formed in 1964 comprising Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu and Mildred Mangxola...
and Ghanaian born rapper Ty at the Frome Festival
Frome Festival
The annual ten-day Frome Festival usually starts the first Friday in July, in Frome, Somerset, England.The Frome Festival was conceived by Martin Bax and the inaugural event was held in 2000. He stepped down as Director in 2007, having received the MBE for his services to the Festival...
on July 12, 2009, and again in a series of concerts in Europe during April and May 2010.
In July 2010 Pee Wee participated in Brass: Durham International Festival 2010. This involved Ellis working with a selection of local youth ensembles and culminated in a concert at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Monday 5 July. Later that week, on Thursday 8 July, Pee Wee took to the stage as a special guest of Maceo Parker and his band. The concert was held at the Gala Theatre Durham and Ellis linked up with his old band friend Maceo to perform 2 songs, playing his signature baritone sax next to Maceo's tenor sax. In August 2010 he played at the 27th Brecon Jazz Festival. Pee Wee is scheduled to join Maceo and Fred Wesley on Jam Cruise in January 2011.
Solo recordings
- 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)
With Van Morrison
- 1979 Into the MusicInto the MusicInto the Music is the eleventh studio album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1979 .Typical of Morrison's music, the album draws on a variety of styles, from New Orleans R&B to Philly soul and Celtic folk, with featured soloists, saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and violinist...
(Polydor) - 1980 Common OneCommon OneCommon One is the twelfth album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1980.It has been said to be one of his most ambitious and daring albums since Astral Weeks...
(Polydor) - 1982 Beautiful VisionBeautiful VisionBeautiful Vision is an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released February 1982 by Warner Bros. Records in the US and Mercury Records in the UK. As with many of Morrison's recordings, spirituality is a major theme and some of the songs are based on the teachings of...
(Polydor) - 1983 Inarticulate Speech of the HeartInarticulate Speech of the HeartInarticulate Speech of the Heart is the fourteenth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1983 ....
(Polydor) - 1984 Live at the Grand Opera House BelfastLive at the Grand Opera House BelfastLive at the Grand Opera House Belfast is the second live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1984...
(Polydor) - 1985 A Sense of WonderA Sense of WonderA Sense of Wonder is the fifteenth album by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison released in 1985. When first released original pressings had to be recalled when the W. B. Yeats estate refused to allow Morrison's musical version of the poem, "Crazy Jane on God" to be included on the album,...
(Polydor) - 1995 Days Like This (Polydor)
- 1996 How Long Has This Been Going OnHow Long Has This Been Going OnHow Long Has This Been Going On is the twenty-fourth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, "with Georgie Fame and Friends", released in 1996...
(Mercury) - Top Jazz Album - #1 - 1996 Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose AllisonTell Me Something: The Songs of Mose AllisonTell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison is the twenty-fifth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, Georgie Fame, Mose Allison and Ben Sidran, released in 1996. It charted at #1 on the Top Jazz Albums chart.-Recording history:...
(Verve) - Top Jazz Album - #1 - 1997 The Healing GameThe Healing GameThe Healing Game is the twenty-sixth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1997 .The June 30, 2008 reissued and remastered version of the album contains a take of the "Rough God Goes Riding" B-side "At the End of the Day"."Rough God Goes Riding" from this album was...
(Mercury) - 1998 The Philosopher's StoneThe Philosopher's Stone (album)The Philosopher's Stone is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison released in 1998 .The songs released on this 2-CD thirty track album were previously unreleased outtakes from 1969 to 1988...
(Polydor) - 1999 Back on Top (Polydor)
- 2006 Live at Montreux 1980/1974Live at Montreux 1980/1974Live at Montreux 1980/1974 is the first official DVD by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on October 16, 2006. The films consist of two separate performances by Van Morrison at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland...
DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
(Exile) - (Pee Wee Ellis is featured prominently in the 1980 performance with solos, especially standing out as the "twin brother" to Morrison's vocals on "Troubadours".)
With The JB Horns
- 1990 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 Maceo Parker
- 1990 Roots Revisited (Minor Music)
- 1991 Mo Roots (Minor Music)
- 1992 Life On Planet Groove (Minor Music)
- 1993 Southern Exposure (Minor Music)
- 1994 Maceo (Minor Music)