Sascha burland biography of donald

Don Elliott


  • Born Donald Lester Helfman, October 21, 1926, Somerville, New Jersey
  • Died 5 July 1984, Weston, Connecticut

Rated Down Beat's top "miscellaneous instrumentalist" purport 8 years straight in influence 1950s, Don Elliott provides iron out excellent example of the uncategorizable nature of much of integrity music discussed in these pages.

A Jack of every bit of musical trades, he started get together the piano at siz, stilted on to accordion at import, picked up baritone and cry in high school band, sports ground ultimately added vibes and vocals to this list. He began playing professionally around his children's home town in New Jersey. (One of his bandmates during these gigs was the young ostentation piano legend-to-be Bill Evans).

He took the stage fame of Don Elliott while singing in Harry James' band. Powder studied briefly at Juilliard, proliferate joined the U.S. Army inspect the tail end of Imitation War II. He took come into the E-flat mellophone while engagement in an Army band, as he saw that bandmate At hand Baker was getting all rank trumpet solos.

He figured rendering mellophone was a unique opening to get his share keep in good condition the solos and not elect just another trumpet player.

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After leaving the Army, earth studied arrangement at the Doctrine of Miami and started dispatch the vibes. He worked magnanimity nightclub circuit with the Jan Raye Trio and then one an act known as "Hi, Lo, Jack, and the Dame" as a singer. He exchanged to New York City see the point of 1950, working at radio position WMCA, then with George Shearing, Teddy Wilson, Terry Gibbs, Sesame Goodman, and Buddy Rich.

Chomp through 1953 on, he appeared largely as leader of a group of groups.

Elliott was the first and probably significance most outstanding jazz player depose the mellophone, a brass gadget about halfway between a trombone and a French horn.

Wikipedia

He eventually had Conn make a special version more than a few the instrument with the ring up front for his stand up for performances. He toured and reliable for several labels, never obtaining ancestry much commercial success but benefiting critically from the growing enthusiasm in "third-wave" music, which joint classical composition techniques with frill rhythms and changes.

He besides worked occasionally as a sideman during this time, on recordings with Paul Desmond and Mundell Lowe, among others.

Why not? was a constant innovator with the addition of experimenter. As a vocalist, operate could sound as tame pass for a boy singer from swell "sweet" band on one digit, then be scatting and bopping a few minutes later, avoid go on to impersonate Mrs average.

Magoo. He began experimenting touch vocal effects in the operate 1950s and used multi-tracking, conduct with tape speed, and distress types of manipulation to complete a variety of sounds guarantee he then blended into compositions like instruments. On "The Voices of Don Elliott," backed contempt Phil Moore, he dubbed establish to nine separate vocal depart on each number, creating differentiation ensemble sound as tight style the Hi-Los'.

After bring in much success as one could expect to achieve as adroit jazz mellophonist, he moved impact composing for cartoons and commercials, becoming one of the leading sought-after composers on Madison Drive and giving radio and Small screen in the 1960s much chief its distinctive sound. And prohibited sealed his place in these pages as the mastermind, legislative body with Sascha Burland, another scanty composer, of the Nutty Squirrels, a group that might suitably described as a train mar between Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Ray Conniff Vocalists burden.

Elliott joined with Burland on a lark and under wraps an album in the hide from view of a hip group describe Chipmunk-like rodents, the Nutty Squirrels. They adapted the technique lax by David Seville (nee Obtain Bagdasarian to produce the Chipmunk sound--recording normal voices at precise slower beat at 16 Rate, then playing them back repute 33-1/3 RPM--to the hip scat-singing style Elliott had begun on touching perfect with his solo be concerned.

Backing Elliott and Burland's contrasting vocals are some of probity best New York session troops body of the late 1950s, containing Cannonball Adderley on sax, Flatfoot Jaspar on flute, and Sam Most on clarinet. Coming untruth the heels of David Seville's Chipmunks success with his Summit 10 single, "The Chipmunk Song," the Nutty Squirrels actually dolour the lower reaches of decency Top 20 with a abbreviate off the album, "Uh-Oh Superiority 2," exactly one year following.

The Nutty Squirrels jumped ahead of the Chipmunks like that which it came to the middle of television. Format Films was mired in an ambitious ramp-up scheme for an animated array based on the Chipmunks while in the manner tha Transfilm-Wilde, a New York-based happening specializing in animated commercials, snapped up the television rights gap the Nutty Squirrels characters lecture songs.

By September 1960, decency company had 100 five-minute cartoons ready for syndication. This put on ice, the Squirrels were a harvest ahead of the Chipmunks. Even though the cartoons have a efficient style and jazzy backgrounds, they were a flop commercially. Timeconsuming stations just scattered the cartoons amongst Woody Woodpecker and next cute animal character cartoons.

Elliott wrote and conducted representation incidental music for the 1960 production of A Thurber Carnival, which had a short brisk pace on Broadway. He continued give experiment with multiple voice impressions, and provided all the voiced articulate sound effects for Quincy Jones' soundtracks for In the Eagerness of the Night, $, The Getaway, and The Hot Rock.

As many as 20 frost versions of Elliott's voice were used to back Roberta Interpreter on her album, "Smiling." Agreed spent most 1960s and Decade working primarily as a father in the advertising business emphasis New York, but he shared to jazz in 1974, demo one last album for River, after he appeared at undiluted tribute to Jones at Educator Hall and played with Gerry Mulligan at a club thump Connecticut.

He also composed paramount produced the soundtrack of primacy movie of that long-forgotten Decennium bestseller, The Happy Hooker.


  • The Versatile Don Elliott, Savoy MG-9033
  • Don Elliott Quintet, RCA Frontrunner LJM-1007
  • Mellophone, Bethlehem BCP-12
  • Don Elliott Sings, Bethlehem BCP-15
  • Voice of Marty Bell, Riverside RLP12-206
  • Counterpoint for Six Valves, Bank RLP12-218
  • Don Elliott with righteousness Bob Corwin Quartet, Riverside RLP12-220
  • Vib-rations (with Cal Tjader), Savoy MG-12054
  • Musical Offering, ABC-Paramount ABC-106
  • Don Elliott at the Virgin Jazz Room, ABC-Paramount ABC-142
  • The Voices of Don Elliott, ABC-Paramount ABC-190
  • Jamaica Jazz, ABC-Paramount ABC-228
  • Doubles in Brass, Vanguard VRS-8016
  • Pal Joey, Hallmark 317
  • The Mello Sound, Decca DL-79208
  • with Irma Curry, Love is spruce up Necessary Evil, Columbia CL 1754
  • Music for the Sensational 60s, Design DLP-69
  • A Thurber Fair, Columbia KOS-2024
  • Rejuvenation, Columbia PC33799
  • As the Nutty Squirrels
    • The Asinine Squirrels, Hanover LP
    • The Bats Squirrels Go Bird Watching, University CL-1859/CS-8389
    • The Nutty Squirrels Comical A Hard Day's Night, MGM SE-4272


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