'Live' at Monterey!: Liner Notes

[liner notes are for educational use only]

"His exquisite phrasing, impeccable timing and tonal beauty, while never losing sight of the rhythmical sequences, astounded the audience. There was a thunderous applause and a standing ovation at the end of the concerto. Fans of big band, small band, blues, concert, Indian music, and soul jazz all have Don Ellis in common." - Eileen Kaufman, Los Angeles Free Press

Monterey - Since jazz has no organized method of grooming performers for stardom, its important new artists generally achieve some stroke of luck such as a hit record or a chance to be heard at a jazz festival. The latter channel opened wide Sunday to accommodate the 20 piece orchestra of a brilliant new talent, Don Ellis. Ellis' future as a major force is now assured, a situation for which we and he can both thank Monterey. The festival that established Lalo Schifrin, John Handy and others as names to reckon with in jazz can now add to its honor role the name of this tall, blonde, bearded young trumpeter and composer from Los Angeles. His band opened the matinee here Sunday and stopped the show. I almost wrote "stopped the show cold", but by the time Ellis and his men were through, the stage was an inferno. From the first moment Ellis avoided every convention of big band jazz. He has three bass players, all of whom open the first number sawing away soberly in unison. This work, entitled "33 222 1 222" after its 19 beat rhythmic foundation, built slowly and inexorably to a thundering, irresistible fortissimo.

What is astonishing about all this is that the results never taste of gimmickry. He has mastered the art of taking an old familiar form or idiom and turning it into something excitingly new without destroying its original essence. Whether his source is an Indian raga, passacaglia, a fugue or a blues; it all comes out sounding like the product of a wide-open mind in which jazz always remain a latent element.

Ellis plays a specially made four-valve horn capable of producing quarter tones. In the past year, he has developed into one of the most original and explorative new trumpet players.

There are several other efficient soloists, especially in the saxophone section, but first and foremost this band is a dynamic and splendidly trained unit, and a mirror of its leader as creative composer, soloist, and catalyst. His will certainly become one of the most influential voices in the new wave; the comment of one listener who suggested that Ellis may be "The Stan Kenton of the 1970's" is probably close to the mark.

- Leonard Feather, Jazz Critic; Los Angeles Times

[There are some liner notes which Ellis wrote to accompany the original album, but for some reason, I didn't get that page in my CD booklet. I'll get those notes up soon.]