Don Ellis

No big band. Haiku, recorded over four days from 1 to 4 June 1973 and released by MPS in 1974, puts Don Ellis's trumpet in front of a twelve-piece string orchestra and a small rhythm group, on ten of his own pieces, each named after and written from a Japanese haiku. It came right after Soaring, the album with Whiplash, and it is the opposite record. Scott Yanow at AllMusic calls it a very different Don Ellis, the trumpet well showcased over strings on ten moody originals, much of it mellow, a d…

A fascinating blend of jazz and contemporary classical influences, How Time Passes is the debut album from the envelope pushing trumpeter and composer Don Ellis. Known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures, Ellis began his long career in the New York Citys post bop and avant-garde jazz scenes of late 1950s. Most notably he appeared on Charles Mingus Mingus Dynasty, and albums by George Russell and Maynard Feguson. But he also worked with, among ot…

"...How Time Passes... and Essence were issued at a time when jazz history was being made practically on a monthly basis. There are a few reasons why they became submerged in the tsunami of groundbreaking  albums released in the first years of the 1960s. For starters, Candid and Pacific Jazz simply did not have the  market clout of Atlantic, Impulse, and other labels. Furthermore, Don Ellis’ music differed significantly from that of the avatars of free jazz, occupying a space between contemporar…