An excellent bop-based guitarist with a slight
country twang to his sound, Herb Ellis became famous playing with
the Oscar Peterson Trio during 1953-1958. Prior to that, he had
attended North Texas State University and played with the Casa
Loma Orchestra, Jimmy Dorsey (1945-1947), and the sadly under-recorded
trio Soft Winds.
While with Peterson, Ellis was on some Jazz at the Philharmonic
tours and had a few opportunities to lead his own dates for Verve,
including his personal favorite, Nothing But the Blues (1957).
After leaving Peterson, Ellis toured a bit with Ella Fitzgerald;
became a studio musician on the West Coast; made sessions with
the Dukes of Dixieland, Stuff Smith, and Charlie Byrd; and in
the 1970s became much more active in the jazz world.
He can be heard on the first three releases issued by the Concord
label, interacting with Joe Pass on the initial two, and he toured
with the Great Guitars (along with Byrd and Barney Kessel) through
much of the 1970s into the '80s. After a long series of Concord
albums, Ellis cut a couple of excellent sessions in the 1990s
for Justice, as well as 1999's Burnin' on Acoustic Music. After
battling Alzheimer's disease, Herb Ellis died at the age of 88
at his home in Los Angeles on March 28, 2010.
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