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Don Ellis Family?


There is a lot about Don Ellis from the musical perspective but I can not find any information about his family. Did he have a wife and kids?

In the video "Electric Heart" there is a short interview of a lady that apparently managed the band at one time. There are pictures showing Don holding her close but no comments about the relationship.

Also, there are comments in the video that refer to Don's comment that after his heart attack he decided he was not ready to die because of his kids. So, did he have children?

Does anyone know of a link to information on this topic?

http://tinyurl.com/Don-Ellis-family


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http://www.handofgord.com/donellisharris/hospital.htm

Note: This was taken down by a nurse when Don had his cardiac arrest. 3:15 AM May 11, 1975

Mr. Don Ellis, room 1006, requested that this be "copied down and given to his father if anything happened"

"I want my father and my mother to know that I love them and I want my children Brav and Tran to know that I love them very much, and I want Connie to know that I love her. I want Maria to know that I love her. I also want Milcho, Sam and Joan, and Roy and Mary Stevens to know that I love them."

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http://www.jazz.com/jazz-blog/2009/8/2/don-ellis-sultanof-one

The interviewee may or may not be Emilie (Diehl) Robertson. She's credited as a researcher for Electric Heart, and she was the vocalist on Don Ellis's 1978 album Live in India (and maybe others). Re the filmmaker, John Vizzusi:

He interviews someone named Emilie Robertson whom we discover in the DVD extras was Ellis's lady in his later years.

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(Me, I'm just a-Googling. I believe I know Don Ellis only from George Russell albums, and it's been a long time since I listened to those.)

I remember when I discovered Mahavishnu and decided to do some exploring in "jazz" for the first time, I took Don Ellis's Electric Bath LP out from the Library and was very impressed. I think that at the time it was considered very forward thinking.

I'm listening to it now on Spotify and enjoying it. Very high energy.

Thanks for the information on Don Ellis. Really interesting.

I JUst re-listened to most of Tears of Joy, my favorite Ellis album.

Tears is great but I get the biggest kick from listening to Autumn.

"The only song Don Ellis plays in four is Take Five"

(?)

I will never forget going with Don & Connie to hear Ravi Shankar in Rochester, NY (they were living on Grand Island and I in Buffalo) and Don trying to count along...

That is an amazing story. Thanks for posting.

bluenoter wrote:

A. Kingstone wrote:"The only song Don Ellis plays in four is Take Five"

(?)

It's "4/4," not "four" (and "tune," not "song").

Variously attributed to Zoot Sims, unknown, and Ellis ("we play," referring to his band). Sometimes "they play"; sometimes past tense.

I think this should have been posted on the trivial annoyances thread.

"It's "4/4," not "four" "


Usually I'm right with you on these types of corrections, Rita. But that really isn't the way musicians speak. Some might say "4/4' but it is far more common to refer to the time signatures of 4/4, 5/4 and 7/4 as four, five and seven. I'm only talking about the real world here, not the way it should be.

A. Kingstone wrote:"The only song Don Ellis plays in four is Take Five"

(?)

Thanks, Doug. I didn't understand Alan's post in #7---what he was asking, etc. Sorry for the interruption, folks!

A. Kingstone wrote:

I've never seen Life of Brian, but I figured out the significance of that image---

a YouTube clip


(Let's see---the URL is 1.bp.blogspot.com/ . . . BrianLeben.jpg. Some German guy named Brian Leben . . . )

I was lucky to play Ellis's (is the apostrophe in the proper place?) Bulgarian Bulge with an 18 piece group. As I remember we had to count or feel 32 which was the top number of the time signature.

Wow, Bulgarian Bulge. I still can't count it. My high school band did a few of Ellis' things, but nothing more exotic than 11 that I can remember.

We never played it a lot and can't attest to a good interpretation but the saxes could read fly shit.

My limited understanding for counting stuff like this is 'long long short, long long long short' or whatever.

7/4 being perhaps instead of 'one two, one two, one two three' as

'Short short long'

Doug, any thoughts?

The best guide is what works for you, AK. I don't think I could stay in the song, thinking 'short, short long' and so on, especially since arrangers tend to switch things up. I've played in 5 and 7 enough the last 8 years that I rarely even count until I feel a little lost, like if the guitarist plays something seemingly 'out of time.'

You know what I actually think helped? About 10 years ago, whenever I'd exercise I'd count my breaths or my steps in 5. I had a band at that time and we were doing something I wrote in 5 but I kept feeling insecure. So counting in 5 (a while with 123, 12 and a while with 12,123 and then also 1 1 1 1 5) kind of made me feel a little more at home onstage.

Hello all, I'm new to this board!

I'm the Filmmaker of Electric Heart, The Don Ellis Story Documentary Film originally released in 2009 by Sleepy Night Records (UK) and now re-released in a new DVD Package from Arthaus and Jazzhaus in Germany for 2014. See Official trailer here:

http://arthaus-musik.com/dvd/neuerschei ... heart.html

Now, I'll try to answer the questions about Don's family.

Yes, he was married to Connie and had two sons named Tran and Brav. Brav is president of Don Ellis Enterprises and resides in Hawaii. Tran is in New Mexico and helped me with my Film as a Technical Advisor. I did not meet or Interview Connie for my Film. Don's Sister Kate contributed and supported my efforts.

The person that is interviewed on camera is Emilie Robertson a retired UCLA educator as well as Music Editor. She was Don's Tour Manager at the time of his death in 1978. She is important because she toured with Don in India at the first ever India Jazz Festival Jazz-Yantra.

I purposely did not dwell of Don's upbringing by Doc and Suger his parents. His Father was a Preacher and Mother a accomplished pianist and organist. Don was born in Los Angeles but the family quickly moved to Minneapolis where Don's father was Pastor of a large church there. Don graduated from High School in Minneapolis and went off to Boston University, He later joined the Army and was lead trumpet in his division Band based in England and Germany. Once he served out his duty in the service, he returned to study and receive his masters in Jazz Composition and Jazz Studies from Boston University. He then moved to New York City and roomed with drummer Gabe Villiani. (Gabe is in the Film) There in New York, he met Connie and they were married in the early 1960's. Don returned to Los Angeles and settled in North Hollywood for the remainder of his life.

Hopefully I have answered as best that I know, questions about the Family life of Donald Johnson Ellis (1934-1978)

I hope everyone that digs Don Ellis has the opportunity to see my Film.

Best

John Vizzusi, Filmmaker
Sights and Sounds Films

e-mail: centralhsd@earthlink.net
Studio: 407-310-2774

Note: This was taken down by a nurse when Don had his cardiac arrest. 3:15 AM May 11, 1975

Mr. Don Ellis, room 1006, requested that this be "copied down and given to his father if anything happened"

"I want my father and my mother to know that I love them and I want my children Brav and Tran to know that I love them very much, and I want Connie to know that I love her. I want Maria to know that I love her. I also want Milcho, Sam and Joan, and Roy and Mary Stevens to know that I love them."

"As you see above thanks to Hand of God on this forum, Don Ellis had heart problems and a near death experience as reported by Milcho Leviev and Paul Bergosian in my Film Electric Heart, don ellis."

The reason for his first cardiac arrest was caused by a chart from another patient being placed on Don's Hospital bedpost in turn Ellis receiving the wrong medication. After leaving the Hospital he went on to Score "The Doctor's" TV Series for a year!

Its important to note that the rumor that Don wanted the band to continue after his death is not quite true. Don Ellis died suddenly in North Hollywood, California in 1978 while eating Dinner with his parents. So he really never told his bandmembers that his illness was acute. The jazz world was shocked when he died. Milcho Leviev has in fact formed numerous tribute orchestra's to play Don's compositions. But nobody since can say, they have equaled what Don accomplished with his Bands.

Best

John Vizzusi, Filmmaker

I caught French Connection on cable the other night; hadn't seen the whole thing in many years. I was digging the score and only at the end credits did I remember that Don Ellis composed it.

Don Ellis scored The French Connection as well as the Sequel Film, The French Connection II and he also scored The Seven-UPS which were the same Exec. Producers.

He won the Grammy for Best Original Title Song from his Score of the Oscar Winning Film "The French Connection" in 1972.

John Vizzusi, Filmmaker
Google: Don Ellis DVD