Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis
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Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis (born 1941 in Bradenton, Florida) 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.
He is currently (2007) living in the town of Frome in the county of Somerset, United Kingdom.
[edit] Biography
In 1949 Ellis's family moved to Lubbock, Texas, 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 1985 he worked with Van Morrison's band as an arranger and musical director and then again from 1995 through 1999.
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 Invitation.
[edit] Selected discography
- With James Brown
- Star Time - a 4 CD retrospective of James Brown's career
- With Van Morrison
- 1979 Into the Music (Polydor)
- 1980 Common One (Polydor)
- 1982 Beautiful Vision (Polydor)
- 1983 Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (Polydor)
- 1985 A Sense of Wonder (Polydor)
- 1995 Days Like This (Polydor)
- 1996 How Long Has This Been Going On (Mercury) - Top Jazz Album - #1
- 1996 Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (Verve) - Top Jazz Album - #1
- 1997 The Healing Game (Mercury)
- 1998 The Philosopher's Stone (Polydor)
- 1999 Back on Top (Polydor)
- 2006 Live at Montreux 1980/1974 DVD (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)
- 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)
