HERB ELLIS

Biography

Mitchell Herbert Ellis was born August 4, 1921, in Farmersville, Texas, a small farming community northeast of Dallas. He showed early musical aptitude, playing harmonica at age three and banjo by six, before a radio broadcast of George Barnes sparked his pivot to jazz guitar. When he enrolled at North Texas State University as a music major, the school had no guitar program, so he was required to study double bass — an accidental detour that gave him an unusually deep command of harmony and rhythm that would distinguish his guitar playing for the rest of his career.

Ellis launched his professional life in 1943 with Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra, then moved to the Jimmy Dorsey Band, where he cut his first documented solos. His first significant creative achievement came from a scheduling gap in the Dorsey calendar, when he, violinist John Frigo, and bassist Lou Carter took a six-week hotel residency in Buffalo that stretched into six months — the Soft Winds trio, modeled on the Nat King Cole format. The group co-wrote two enduring jazz standards: "Detour Ahead" and "I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out," both of which have been recorded by hundreds of artists. In 1953 Ellis replaced Barney Kessel in the Oscar Peterson Trio alongside Peterson and bassist Ray Brown, a period critics consider the pinnacle of his career. The trio served as the de facto house rhythm section for Norman Granz's Verve Records, accompanying Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Ben Webster, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others on dozens of recordings. Notable trio albums include At Stratford (1956) and On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio (1958).

Ellis's playing is characterized as "bop-based with a slight country twang" — bebop sophistication grounded in a warm Texan-blues tonality that set him apart from more purely urban contemporaries. His years on bass gave him the rare ability to anchor the rhythm section from the guitar chair, part of what made the Peterson Trio so rhythmically cohesive without a drummer. After leaving Peterson in 1958, he toured with Ella Fitzgerald, worked extensively as a West Coast studio musician, and recorded celebrated duo sessions with Joe Pass, most notably Two for the Road (Pablo Records, 1974). In 1973 he co-founded the Great Guitars supergroup with Charlie Byrd and Barney Kessel, a touring and recording project that continued through the 1990s. He was inducted into the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame in 1994 and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of North Texas in 1997. Ellis died of Alzheimer's disease in Los Angeles on March 28, 2010, age 88, cited by Pat Metheny, John Pizzarelli, and others as a formative influence on mainstream jazz guitar.

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Fun Facts

• Ellis was forced to study double bass at North Texas State University because the school had no guitar program — an accidental detour that gave him an unusually deep harmonic and rhythmic foundation that distinguished his guitar style throughout his entire career.
• The Soft Winds trio — which produced two of jazz's most-covered standards, 'Detour Ahead' and 'I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out' — only came together because the Jimmy Dorsey band had a six-week hole in its touring schedule. What was meant to be a brief hotel fill-in became a six-month residency.
• Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side comic strip, was a devoted Herb Ellis fan who drew many of his cartoons while listening to Ellis's records. When Ellis needed cover art for his 1988 Concord album Doggin' Around (with Red Mitchell), Larson provided a cartoon illustration in exchange for guitar lessons. After two days of lessons at Ellis's home, Ellis reportedly said he was so impressed he was tempted to let Larson play on the album.
• Ellis replaced Barney Kessel in the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1953 — and then, decades later, when Kessel suffered a stroke in 1992 and had to retire from the Great Guitars group, Ellis continued carrying on the format that Kessel had helped build, with rotating guitarists (Tal Farlow, Larry Coryell, Ron Escheté) filling the third chair.

Associated Acts

• The Oscar Peterson Trio - guitar (1953–1958)
• André Previn and His Quartet - guitar
• The Flip Phillips Quintet
• The Great Guitars
• The Gene Harris / Scott Hamilton Quintet - guitar
• Soft Winds - guitar
• The Trumpets of Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie and Harry Edison - guitar

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Charlie Christian - Ellis's primary and most often-cited influence — Christian pioneered single-note melodic lines on electric guitar in swing ensembles, and Ellis's style is considered the most direct linear descendant of Christian's of his generation. Both were raised in the same region of Texas. [1930s–1940s]
• Django Reinhardt - After absorbing Charlie Christian, Ellis incorporated Reinhardt's recordings into his development, drawing on Reinhardt's speed and distinctive phrasing. [1940s]
• George Barnes - A radio broadcast of Barnes playing jazz guitar was Ellis's first encounter with the instrument, sparking his shift from banjo to guitar. [Late 1930s]

Key Collaborators

• Oscar Peterson - Ellis replaced Barney Kessel as guitarist in the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1953, a period widely regarded as the peak of his career. The trio served as the house rhythm section for Verve Records. (At Stratford (1956), On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio (1958), Vancouver 1958) [1953–1958]
• Ray Brown - Bassist in the Oscar Peterson Trio alongside Ellis, forming one of the most celebrated piano-guitar-bass trios in jazz history. (At Stratford (1956), On the Town (1958)) [1953–1958]
• Ella Fitzgerald - Ellis toured with Fitzgerald after leaving the Peterson Trio, serving as her guitarist. [1957–1960]
• Joe Pass - Recorded duo guitar sessions together for Pablo Records. (Two for the Road (Pablo Records, 1974)) [1970s]
• Charlie Byrd - Co-founded the Great Guitars supergroup with Ellis and Barney Kessel. (Great Guitars (1975), Great Guitars at the Winery (1980)) [1973–1990s]
• Barney Kessel - Co-founded the Great Guitars supergroup; Ellis had previously replaced Kessel in the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1953. (Great Guitars (1975), Great Guitars: Straight Tracks (1991)) [1973–1992]
• John Frigo - Violinist who co-formed the Soft Winds trio with Ellis and Lou Carter; co-wrote 'Detour Ahead' and 'I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out.' [1947–1952]

Artists Influenced

• Pat Metheny - Cited Ellis as a formative influence on his development as a jazz guitarist.
• John Pizzarelli - Cites Ellis as a key reference and influence on his mainstream jazz guitar style.

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #bebop, #cool-jazz, #jazz