Pee Wee Ellis facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Pee Wee Ellis
Ellis in Milan, 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Alfred James Ellis
Also known as	Pee Wee Ellis
Born	(1941-04-21)April 21, 1941 Bradenton, Florida, United States
Died	September 23, 2021(2021-09-23) (aged 80)
Genres	Funk, soul, jazz
Occupation(s)	Saxophonist, composer, arranger
Instruments	tenor, soprano, alto and baritone saxophones, keyboards and flute
Years active	1954–2021
Labels	Skip Records, Minor Music, Gramavision
Associated acts	James Brown, Van Morrison, Ginger Baker's Jazz Confusion, The Dapps

Pee Wee Ellis in 2012

Pee Wee Ellis in 1996 in Paris with his band Assembly

Alfred James Ellis (born April 21, 1941 – died September 23, 2021) was an American musician known as Pee Wee Ellis. He got his nickname because he was small. He was a talented saxophonist, a person who plays the saxophone. He also wrote and arranged music.

Pee Wee Ellis started his career in jazz music. He became famous for being a key member of James Brown's band in the 1960s. He helped create the sound of funk music. He also worked with many other famous artists, including Van Morrison.

Early Life and Music
Working with James Brown
Later Music Career
Discography
See also

Early Life and Music

Pee Wee Ellis was born in Bradenton, Florida, on April 21, 1941. His mother was Elizabeth. His father was Garfield Devoe Rogers, Jr. When he was young, his father left. In 1949, his mother married Ezell Ellis. Ezell helped organize musicians for local dance bands.

The family moved to Lubbock, Texas. Pee Wee said it was a "highly segregated town." Musicians staying at his family's home gave him his nickname. Sadly, in 1955, his stepfather, Ezell Ellis, passed away because a hospital did not treat him due to his race. This sad event showed the unfairness of segregation at the time. After this, his family moved to Rochester, New York.

Pee Wee Ellis first played music in public in 1954. This was at Dunbar Junior High School. While in high school, he played professionally with jazz musicians. These included Ron Carter and Chuck Mangione. In 1957, he met the famous saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Sonny Rollins agreed to give him saxophone lessons every week. Pee Wee would fly to New York City for these lessons. He later studied at the Manhattan School of Music. There, he became even better at jazz. In 1960, he moved back to Florida. He worked as a bandleader and music director.

Working with James Brown

In 1965, a friend invited Pee Wee Ellis to join the James Brown Revue. He played with James Brown until 1969. During this time, they wrote 26 songs together. Pee Wee started as an alto saxophonist. He later switched to tenor saxophone. Within two years, he became James Brown's music director.

Pee Wee Ellis said that his jazz background mixed with James Brown's R&B style. This mix created the new sound of funk music. They wrote famous songs together. These included "Cold Sweat" (1967) and "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" (1968). Pee Wee arranged both of these songs. "Say It Loud" was written after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.. It became an important song for African Americans.

This song became popular again in 2020. This was after the George Floyd murder and the Black Lives Matter protests. Its streaming numbers jumped by a lot in just one week. Pee Wee Ellis told a newspaper that the song quickly spread across the country. He said people would line up around the block to see their shows. He explained that funk music brought a new attitude. It showed a new and strong Black culture.

Later Music Career

In 1969, Pee Wee Ellis went back to New York City. He worked as an arranger and music director for CTI Records. He worked with artists like George Benson and Esther Phillips. In the late 1970s, he moved to San Francisco. He started a band with Miles Davis's former bandmate David Liebman. They recorded "The Chicken." This song became a favorite of the famous bassist Jaco Pastorius.

Later, the trumpeter Mark Isham asked Pee Wee to play for Van Morrison. Pee Wee created a funky arrangement for one of Morrison's songs. This led to him working on Van Morrison's album Into the Music (1979). He continued to work with Van Morrison for over 20 years. He toured with him many times. He also recorded more than ten albums with him. He was Van Morrison's arranger and music director for many years.

In the late 1980s, Pee Wee Ellis reunited with musicians from James Brown's band. They formed a group called the JB Horns. With Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker, he recorded albums that helped define jazz-funk music. The group also toured in Europe. In 1992, he started recording solo albums again.

Pee Wee Ellis also showed his wide range of musical interests. In 1995, he played saxophone and arranged horns for an album by Mali's Oumou Sangare. He worked with many other artists from around the world. These included Ali Farka Touré and Cachao.

His own group, The Pee Wee Ellis Assembly, played music regularly from 1992. Pee Wee was always busy playing with other artists. He also arranged and recorded his own albums. He was a respected session player and teacher.

From 2009 to 2011, Pee Wee Ellis toured with a tribute to James Brown. It was called "Still Black Still Proud." It was very popular in the USA and Europe. Special guests included Vusi Mahlasela and Maceo Parker.

From 2012, Pee Wee Ellis toured with the Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion. This group included Ellis, drummer Ginger Baker, bassist Alec Dankworth, and percussionist Abass Dodoo.

In July 2014, Bath Spa University honored Pee Wee Ellis with a special doctorate degree. He also supported local music. He was a patron and performer at the Bristol International Blues and Jazz Festival. He passed away on September 23, 2021, at the age of 80.

Discography

Solo recordings

1977 Home in the Country (Savoy)
1992 Blues Mission (Gramavision)
1993 Twelve and More Blues (Minor Music)
1994 Sepia Tonality (Minor Music)
1995 Yellin Blue
1996 A New Shift (Minor Music)
1997 What You Like (Minor Music)
2000 Ridin Mighty High (Skip Records)
2001 Live and Funky (Skip Records)
2005 Different Rooms (Skip Records)
2011 Tenoration (Art of Groove, MIG-Music)
2013 The Spirit of Christmas (Minor Music GmbH)
2015 The Cologne Concerts (Minor Music GmbH)

With James Brown

Star Time - a four-CD collection of James Brown's music

With Van Morrison

1979 Into the Music (Polydor)
1980 Common One (Polydor)
1982 Beautiful Vision (Polydor)
1983 Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (Polydor)
1984 Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast (Polydor)
1985 A Sense of Wonder (Polydor)
1995 Days Like This (Polydor)
1996 How Long Has This Been Going On (Mercury) - Top Jazz Album - #1
1996 Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (Verve) - Top Jazz Album - #1
1997 The Healing Game (Mercury)
1998 The Philosopher's Stone (Polydor)
1999 Back on Top (Polydor)
2006 Live at Montreux 1980/1974 DVD (Exile) - (Pee Wee Ellis is featured prominently in the 1980 performance with solos, especially standing out as the "twin brother" to Morrison's vocals on "Troubadours".)

With The JB Horns

1990 Finally Getting Paid (Minor Music)
1991 Pee Wee, Fred and Maceo (Gramavision)
1993 Funky Good Time - Live (Gramavision)
1994 I Like It Like That

With Maceo Parker

1990 Roots Revisited (Minor Music)
1991 Mo' Roots (Minor Music)
1992 Life on Planet Groove (Minor Music)
1993 Southern Exposure (Minor Music)
1994 Maceo (Minor Music)

Other contributions

With Ginger Baker

Why? (Motema Music, 2014)

With Brass Fever

Time Is Running Out (Impulse!, 1976)

With George Benson

Body Talk (CTI Records|CTI, 1973)

With Hank Crawford

It's a Funky Thing to Do (Cotillion, 1971)

With Dave Liebman

Light'n Up, Please! (Horizon, 1975)

With Jack McDuff

The Fourth Dimension (Cadet, 1974)
Magnetic Feel (Cadet, 1975)

With the Rebirth Brass Band, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and Lenny Kravitz

"Whole Lotta Lovin'" on Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard, 2007)

With Shirley Scott

Mystical Lady (Cadet, 1971)

With Sonny Stitt

Dumpy Mama (Flying Dutchman, 1975)

With Leon Thomas

Blues and the Soulful Truth (Flying Dutchman, 1972)
Full Circle (Flying Dutchman, 1973)

With Ali Farka Touré

Savane (World Circuit, 2006)