All About Jazz Guitar Legend, Herb Ellis
Herb Ellis was born in Texas and grew up in the Dallas area. He dropped out of college to pursue his musical aspirations. He really did not get a professional nod until he was 33 years old. That break came when Ellis was playing jazz guitar with the Jimmy Dorsey Band in 1943. It was with Jimmy Dorsey’s band that Ellis first recorded music as a guitar solo performer. Ellis caught another huge break when musician John Frigo, dropped out of a band, that Ellis would soon join in 1947, the band would eventually evolve into the ‘Soft Winds’. The band would stay together with Ellis until 1952. In 1953 Ellis joined, the ‘Oscar Peterson Trio’. The group was referred to by many jazz greats, as the greatest jazz ensemble of, piano, guitar and bass trios of all time. Ellis raised a lot of eyebrows during his tenure with the Peterson Trio. He was the only caucasian in the group, at a time when integrated groups were unheard of. Ellis would backup both Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong during studio recordings. Ellis would join Ella Fitzgerald touring in 1959 and 60. Ellis died of Alzheimer’s disease in LA in 2010 at 88.