Peewee Ellis

Don Ellis - French Connection 1+2. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1971, 1975) {2003 FilmScore}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 298 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 128 Mb | Artwork (web)
© 2003 Film Score / 20th Century Fox | FSM 04-06
Jazz / Soundtrack / Pop

Don Ellis was a hot item in 1971. He had done a few big band albums that sounded like Doc Severson plugged into Frank Zappa'a sound system, and was opening a lot of rock shows, back in the era when you could get rock and roll kids to listen to and appreciate jazz. So, Billy Friedkin makes French Connection, and gets Don to score it. Billy must have known he had a hit on his hands, and wanted a big name to put on the composer credit. Ellis does an entire, half hour score for the movie. Not a lot of this music made it into the film: evidently, Billy wanted to have a gritty film with lots of street noises, and, tastefully edited Don's score to bare bones. It works in the movie, but a lot of really good music never saw the light of day.

A fiery guitarist and talented songwriter who plays a unique blend of Memphis R&B, southwest blues, and urban funk. Collection includes: Hell Or High Water (2002); The Hard Way (2004); Moment Of Truth (2007); Speak No Evil (2009); Red Clay Soul (2016); Winning Hand (2018).

Don Ellis - Music From Other Galaxies And Planets (1977) {Atlantic-Wounded Bird WOU 8227 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 271 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 95 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 106 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 2006 Atlantic / Wounded Bird Records | WOU 8227 / LP Atlantic SD 18227
Jazz / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz / Experimental Big Band

Ellis recorded Music from Other Galaxies and Planets (1977) after returning from a hiatus caused by a severe heart condition. With this new ensemble – appropriately named “Survival” – Ellis covers very little new musical territory on the release, which has become maligned by many Ellis fans. However, according to Hank Levy, the album is the result of hasty decisions made by Ellis’s new label Atlantic Records.

Let's call a spade a spade. Orion is an Elvis impersonator. No more, no less. That he's a good Elvis impersonator is important, since if he wasn't, Sun probably wouldn't have tried to promote his recordings as if they were genuine Elvis material, even going to the extremes of overdubbing Orion's voices on recordings by such Sun stalwarts as Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. This doesn't make him any better, but it sure makes him fascinating, particularly because he is gifted at mimicry and these are pretty good evocations of Elvis at his peak…