Pee Wee Ellis

For other people named Alfred Ellis, see Alfred Ellis (disambiguation).

Pee Wee Ellis
Ellis in Milan, 2007
Ellis in Milan, 2007
Background information
Birth nameAlfred James Rogers
Also known asPee Wee Ellis
Born(1941-04-21)April 21, 1941
Bradenton, Florida, U.S.
DiedSeptember 23, 2021(2021-09-23) (aged 80)
Somerset, England[1]
GenresFunk, soul, jazz
Occupation(s)Saxophonist, composer, arranger
Instrument(s)Tenor, soprano, alto and baritone saxophones, keyboards, flute[2]
Years active1954–2021
LabelsSkip Records, Minor Music, Gramavision
Formerly ofThe J.B.'s, Ginger Baker's Jazz Confusion, The Dapps
Pee Wee Ellis in 2012
Ellis, with his band Assembly, at the New Morning jazz club, Paris, 1996

Alfred James Rogers (April 21, 1941 – September 23, 2021), known as Pee Wee Ellis due to his diminutive stature, was an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger.[3] With a background in jazz, he was a member of James Brown's band in the 1960s, appearing on many of Brown's recordings and co-writing hits like "Cold Sweat" and "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud". He also worked with Van Morrison. Ellis resided in England for the last 30 years of his life.[4][5]

Early life

Ellis was born on April 21, 1941, in Bradenton, Florida, to his mother Elizabeth and his father Garfield Devoe Rogers, Jr.[6] His father left when he was a young boy, and In 1949, his mother married Ezell Ellis, an organizer of musicians for local dance bands.[3] The family settled in Lubbock, Texas, "a highly segregated town", according to Ellis who gained his nickname "Pee Wee" from musicians staying at the family home. In 1955, a white woman insisted on dancing with his step-father, but interracial mixing enraged a man watching who stabbed him. Ezell Ellis, an African American, died because a hospital refused to treat him based on the colour of his skin.[7] The remaining members of the family moved to Rochester, New York.[8]

Ellis gave his first public performance in 1954 at Dunbar Junior High School. While attending Madison High School he played professionally with jazz musicians including Ron Carter and Chuck Mangione. In 1957, while visiting a saxophone repair shop on Broadway, he met Sonny Rollins and asked him for saxophone lessons. Sonny agreed to teach him weekly, requiring Ellis to fly to New York City from Rochester in order to do so.[7] The round fare for the flight was 55 dollars, and he was earning 90 dollars a week from playing in a local club called the Pythodd Room,[9] so decided it was worth the investment.[3] He went on to attend Manhattan School of Music, where he honed his skills in Jazz.[3][8] In 1960 he moved back to Florida working as a bandleader, musical director and writer.

Association with James Brown

At the invitation of a friend, trumpeter Waymon Reed, Ellis joined the James Brown Revue in 1965. He worked with Brown until 1969, co-writing 26 songs with him.[10] He joined as an alto saxophonist, later switching to tenor and became Brown's music director within two years.[4] Ellis said in 2015 that his "jazz influence" merged with Brown's R&B background to create funk.[11] The songs they wrote together included the hits "Cold Sweat" (1967) and "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" (1968); Ellis arranged both.[7] "Say It Loud" was intended as a response to the assassination of Martin Luther King.[8] It became a new anthem for African Americans.[5] This song gained a new lease of life after the George Floyd murder and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, with a 15,740 percent jump in the streaming of the song in one week.[3]

Ellis told Martin Chilton, writing for the London Independent in 2020, about the response to the song: "In two weeks, it was like it had swept across the country. We were doing three shows a day at The Apollo and people queued around the block every day for every show. "[7] Credited as a pioneer of funk, Ellis told an interviewer from Jazzwise magazine in the same year" "it was a music that heralded a new attitude; a new and distinctive black culture, of street culture finding confidence and popularity outside and alongside the establishment."[12]

Later career

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,[13] with whom he recorded "The Chicken", that was to become a favourite of Jaco Pastorius.

The trumpeter Mark Isham asked Ellis to perform on a track for Van Morrison. He wrote a funky arrangement of "You Make Me Feel So Free" for Morrison leading to his involvement in creating all of the tracks on Into the Music (1979). An association between the two musicians endured.[7] He toured with Morrison many times and recorded another dozen albums with him over the next 20 years.[5] Until 1986, he worked with 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 appearances.[14]

In the late 1980s, Ellis 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 albums that defined a version of jazz-funk. The group also toured in Europe. In 1992 he resumed his solo recording career. Ellis also appeared alongside Bobby Byrd in the J.B. All Stars.

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" and worked with many other artists on the World Circuit label including Ali Farka Toure, Cheikh Lo, Anga Diaz and renowned Cuban bassist Cachao.

His own group The Pee Wee Ellis Assembly continued to work consistently from 1992, and Ellis was always busy guesting with multi various artists, arranging and recording both his own albums and as a respected session player and teaching.

Between 2009 and 2011, Ellis toured an African tribute to James Brown, "Still Black Still Proud", to much acclaim in the U.S. and Europe. Special guests in the project included Vusi Mahlasela, Maceo Parker, Cheikh Lo, Mahotella Queens and Ghanaian rapper Ty.

From 2012, Ellis toured with the Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion, a quartet comprising Ellis, drummer Ginger Baker, bassist Alec Dankworth and percussionist Abass Dodoo.

In July 2014, Pee Wee Ellis was honored with a doctorate by Bath Spa University, and he continued to support local music as patron (and a principal performer) of the Bristol International Blues and Jazz Festival. He died on September 23, 2021, at the age of 80.[15]

Ellis was played by rapper Black Thought (credited as Tariq Trotter) in the 2014 biographical film Get on Up about James Brown.

Discography

Solo recordings

  • 1977 Home in the Country (Savoy)
  • 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)
  • 2013 The Spirit of Christmas (Minor Music GmbH)
  • 2015 The Cologne Concerts (Minor Music GmbH)

With James Brown

With Van Morrison

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

Other contributions

With Ginger Baker

  • Why? (Motema Music, 2014)

With Brass Fever

With George Benson

With Hank Crawford

With Dave Liebman

With Jack McDuff

With the Rebirth Brass Band, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and Lenny Kravitz

With Shirley Scott

With Sonny Stitt

With Leon Thomas

With Ali Farka Touré

See also

References

  1. ^ Michael J. West (29 September 2021). "Pee Wee Ellis 1941–2021". JazzTimes. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Pee Wee Ellis credits". allmusic.com. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Pee Wee Ellis obituary". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b Schudel, Matt (25 September 2021). "Pee Wee Ellis, who helped put the funk in James Brown's music, dies at 80". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Williams, Richard (30 September 2021). "Pee Wee Ellis obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  6. ^ McBride, James (2016). Kill 'Em and Leave. New York: Spiegel & Grau. p. 139. ISBN 9780812993509.
  7. ^ a b c d e Chilton, Martin (17 June 2020). "Pee Wee Ellis: 'America was built on slavery and exploitation – but change is coming'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Pareles, Jon (27 September 2021). "Pee Wee Ellis, James Brown's Partner in Funk, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Chasin' the Past Pt. 4- Lost Jazz Clubs of Rochester". Local History ROCs!. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  10. ^ Burland, Michaerl (July–August 2020). "Pee Wee Ellis". The American. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  11. ^ Rothman, Michael (19 January 2015). "Pee Wee Ellis Opens Up About His Time Playing with James Brown". ABC News. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  12. ^ Whitlock, Kevin (14 February 2020). "Pee Wee Ellis Interview: Feeling the Funk on UK Tour". Jazzwise. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Pee Wee Ellis biography". peewee-ellis.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  14. ^ "Van Morrison song database". ivan.vanomatic.de. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  15. ^ "Pee Wee Ellis, Legendary Saxophonist for James Brown, Van Morrison, Dead at 80". Rolling Stone. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.

Read other articles:

Karl Marx Library

This article is about the series of books produced in the United States. It is not to be confused with the Marx Memorial Library in London. The Karl Marx Library Common dust jacket of Padover's Karl Marx LibraryAuthorSaul K. Padover (ed.)Cover artistRoger FerriterCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenrehistoryPublished1971–1977 (in 7 volumes) The Karl Marx Library is a topically-organized series of original translations and biographical commentaries edited by historian and Karl Marx sc...

 

Mangirl!

Japanese manga and anime Mangirl!Cover of Mangirl! volume 1.まんがーる!(Mangāru!)GenreComedy MangaWritten byKagari TamaokaPublished byEarth Star EntertainmentMagazineComic Earth StarDemographicShōnenOriginal runApril 2011 – July 2013Volumes3 Anime television seriesDirected byNobuaki NakanishiWritten byReiko YoshidaStudioDoga KoboLicensed byNA: CrunchyrollOriginal networkTokyo MX, Sun TV, ATX, NiconicoOriginal run January 2, 2013 – March 27, 2013Episodes13 +...

 

Nikolaus del Liechtenstein

Nikolaus del LiechtensteinPrincipe del LiechtensteinStemma In carica24 ottobre 1947 Nome completotedesco: Nikolaus Ferdinand Maria Josef Raphaelitaliano: Nicola Ferdinando Maria Giuseppe Raffaele TrattamentoSua Altezza Serenissima Altri titoliConte di Rietberg(1993 - attuale) NascitaZurigo, 24 ottobre 1947 (76 anni) DinastiaVon Liechtenstein PadreFrancesco Giuseppe II del Liechtenstein MadreGiorgina di Wilczek ConsorteMargaretha di Lussemburgo FigliLeopold Emmanuel Jean MarieMaria ...

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery

Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Shigatse, Tibet, China Tashi LhunpoTibetan transcription(s)Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་ལྷུན་པོ་Wylie transliteration: bkra shis lhun poPronunciation in IPA: [ʈáɕi l̥ympo]Official transcription (China): Zhaxi LhünboTHL: Trashi LhünpoOther transcriptions: Tashi Lhunpo, Tashi LhümpoChinese transcription(s)Traditional: 扎什倫布寺Simplified: 扎什伦布寺Pinyin: Zhāshí Lúnbù SìEntrance to Tashi Lhunpo MonasteryReligionAffiliatio...

 

Troon F.C.

Association football club in South Ayrshire, Scotland, UK Football clubTroon Football ClubFull nameTroon Football ClubNickname(s)The Seasiders or The SeagullsFounded1946 (1889 as Troon Academicals)GroundPortland Park, TroonCapacity2,000 (250 seated)ChairmanJim KirkwoodManagerJimmy KirkwoodLeagueWest of Scotland League Premier Division2022–23West of Scotland League Premier Division, 11th of 16WebsiteClub website Home colours Away colours Troon Football Club (also known as The Seasiders or Th...

 

克瓦米·恩克鲁玛

此條目可参照外語維基百科相應條目来扩充。若您熟悉来源语言和主题，请协助参考外语维基百科扩充条目。请勿直接提交机械翻译，也不要翻译不可靠、低品质内容。依版权协议，译文需在编辑摘要注明来源，或于讨论页顶部标记{{Translated page}}标签。 Osagyefo克瓦米·恩克鲁玛第三届非洲联盟主席任期1965年10月21日—1966年2月24日前任贾迈勒·阿卜杜-纳赛尔继任约瑟夫·亚瑟·�...

Saison 2005 de l'équipe cycliste Rabobank

Rabobank 2005GénéralitésÉquipe Team Visma-Lease a BikeCode UCI RABStatut UCI ProTeamPays  Pays-BasSport Cyclisme sur routeManager général Erik BreukinkPalmarèsNombre de victoires 28 (7 pour Freire)Meilleur coureur UCI Denis Menchov (14e)Rabobank 2004Rabobank 2006modifier - modifier le code - modifier Wikidata L'équipe cycliste Rabobank participait en 2005 au ProTour nouvellement créé. Déroulement de la saison Cette section est vide, insuffisamment détaillée ou incomplète. V...

 

Glutamine synthetase

Class of enzymes glutamate—ammonia ligaseActive site between two monomers of glutamine synthetase from Salmonella typhimurium. Cation binding sites are yellow and orange; ADP is pink; phosphinothricin is blue.[1]IdentifiersEC no.6.3.1.2CAS no.9023-70-5 DatabasesIntEnzIntEnz viewBRENDABRENDA entryExPASyNiceZyme viewKEGGKEGG entryMetaCycmetabolic pathwayPRIAMprofilePDB structuresRCSB PDB PDBe PDBsumGene OntologyAmiGO / QuickGOSearchPMCarticlesPubMedarticlesNCBIproteins Glutamine synth...

 

جورج دانتزغ

جورج برنارد دانتزغ (بالإنجليزية: George Bernard Dantzig)‏  معلومات شخصية اسم الولادة (بالإنجليزية: George Bernard Dantzig)‏  الميلاد 8 نوفمبر 1914(1914-11-08)بورتلاند الوفاة 13 مايو 2005 (90 سنة)ستانفورد (كاليفورنيا) مواطنة أمريكي العرق يهودي [1]  عضو في الأكاديمية الوطنية للعلوم،  والأكاديم...

Russell–Einstein Manifesto

1955 manifesto on the dangers of nuclear weapons Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?~ Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell[1] The Russell–Einstein Manifesto was issued in London on 9 July 1955 by Bertrand Russell in the midst of the Cold War. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to internati...

 

Ajacán Mission

1570 Spanish Jesuit mission in pre-colonial Virginia; massacred by natives in 1571 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Part of a series onSpanish missionsin the Americasof the Catholic Church Missions in North America Arizona Baja California California The Carolinas Chi...

 

Bhanvad railway station

Railway station in Gujarat, India Bhanvad railway station Indian Railways stationGeneral informationLocationBhanvad, GujaratIndiaCoordinates21°55′59″N 69°47′55″E / 21.933070°N 69.798703°E / 21.933070; 69.798703Elevation62 m (203.4 ft)Owned byMinistry of Railways, Indian RailwaysOperated byWestern RailwayLine(s)Jamnagar–Porbandar linePlatforms2Tracks2ConstructionParkingNoBicycle facilitiesNoOther informationStatusFunctioningStation codeBNVD Zone(...

متقلبات ألفا

اضغط هنا للاطلاع على كيفية قراءة التصنيف طائفة متقلبات ألفا المرتبة التصنيفية طائفة  التصنيف العلمي النطاق: الجراثيم المملكة: بكتيريا الشعبة: متقلبات الطائفة: متقلبات ألفا الاسم العلمي Alphaproteobacteria Garrity et al.، 2006 تعديل مصدري - تعديل   متقلبات ألفا أو بكتريا ممثلة للضوء غي...

 

List of barrios and sectors of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Toa Alta is subdivided into administrative units called barrios, which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions,[1] (and means wards or boroughs or neighborhoods in English). The barrios and subbarrios,[2] in turn, are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to ba...

 

Daftar film Amerika tahun 1992

Film Amerika Serikatmenurut tahun 1890-an 1890 1891 1892 1893 18941895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900-an 1900 1901 1902 1903 19041905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910-an 1910 1911 1912 1913 19141915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920-an 1920 1921 1922 1923 19241925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930-an 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940-an 1940 1941 1942 1943 19441945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950-an 1950 1951 1952 1953 19541955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960-an 1960 1961 1962 1963 19641965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970-a...

Frederick Whitaker

Prime Minister of New Zealand For his son, the member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, see Frederick Alexander Whitaker. For the civil engineer, see Frederick Arthur Whitaker. The HonourableSir Frederick WhitakerKCMGFrederick Whitaker, ca 1870s5th Premier of New ZealandIn office30 October 1863 – 24 November 186421 April 1882 – 25 September 1883MonarchVictoriaGovernorGeorge GreyArthur Hamilton-GordonWilliam JervoisPreceded byAlfred Domett (1863) John Hall (1882)Succeed...

 

Jägarmagasin

Jägarmagasin / Kopplade magasin Jägarmagasin med magasinskoppling och tejp i en RPK-74. Soldat med egentejpat jägarmagasin. Mellersta magasin sitter inverterat för att hålla matarläpparna fria. Del av: Vapenmagasin Magasintyper Stavmagasin Cylindermagasin Tallriksmagasin Trummagasin Sadelmagasin Jägarmagasin Underkategorier Laddram Högkapacitetsmagasin Jägarmagasin eller kopplade magasin[1] är benämningen på två eller fler stavmagasin som kopplats samman. Namnet härrör från d...

 

Bar à vin

Pour les articles homonymes, voir Bar et Vin. Enseigne traditionnelle de Winstub « Au Sommelier » du vignoble d'Alsace Un bar à vin (wine bar en anglais, weinstube en Allemagne, winstub en Alsace, enoteca en espagnol, osteria en Italie) est une variante de bar-restaurant, spécialisé dans la dégustation de vins, pour les amateurs oenophiles. Histoire Variante des pub, taverne, brasserie, café, bistro, bouchon lyonnais, bar à cocktails, caviste, Œnothèque, caveau de dégust...

地方政府

この項目では、地方政府一般について説明しています。日本の地方政府(地方自治体)については「地方公共団体」をご覧ください。 OECD各国税収のタイプ別GDP比(%)。赤は国家間、青は連邦・中央政府、紫は州政府、橙は地方政府、緑は社会保障拠出[1]。 地方政府（ちほうせいふ、（英語: local government、ドイツ語: Gebietskörperschaft）とは、国内における一定の地...

 

Hontanaya

Municipality in Castile-La Mancha, Spain This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: Hontanaya – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (August...