Rhythm

Rhythm: a new system of rhythm based on the ancient Hindu techniques.

Since I know next to nothing about this, I have quoted Sean Fenlon, who wrote his dissertation about Ellis and included a paragraphs about Rhythm.

Sean Fenlon: "Although the typescript copyright date in Rhythm reads 1977, there is significant evidence to suggest that Ellis' work on the document was actually initiated - if not entirely completed - years earlier. In the new rhythm book, published in 1972, Ellis makes reference to have begun work on Rhythm. Ellis also makes the statement in Rhythm: 'Last year I got the shock of my life. I began studying Indian music [...].' Ellis had begun his Indian music studies at UCLA with Hari Har Rao in 1963, suggesting Rhythm could have been started as early 1964.

"Subtitled 'A new system of rhythm based on the ancient Hindu techniques,' Rhythm places less emphasis on his own musical background and the history of specific meters and places more emphasis on Indian methods of learning rhythmic superimpositions, reflecting Ellis' studies with Hari Har Rao while attending UCLA. The book includes hundreds of manuscript etude-like exercises. Unlike Ellis' other documents - which appear to suggest jazz musicians as the intended audience - Rhythm was designed as a tutorial and etude book for any musician. According to Ellis' own forward:

"[The book is] The road to gaining a complete mastery of rhythm [...] The book is more than just a text for the improvising jazz musician. It is a method for classical instrumentalists, conductors and composers to gain master of the complex rhythmic configurations that become more numerous in modern classical music each day.

"Additionally, the entire text of the document avoids the use of any jazz-specific terms or concepts. Although Ellis does include examples from his own works, Rhythm is less autobiographical and more pedagogical than the new rhythm book."

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