Oliver Nelson: More Blues And The Abstract Truth Original Impulse A-75

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Album Cover Very Good To Excellent Finger Print type mark inside jacket CC12 written twice on album inside and back cover see pictures. Patina outstanding on Cover. Record is Excellent++++ To Near Mint Side one label half inch Rolodex dot marked C-12. Oliver Nelson's family was musical: his brother was also a saxophonist who played with Cootie Williams in the 1940s, and his sister sang and played piano. Nelson began learning to play the piano when he was six, and started on the saxophone at eleven. From 1947 he played in "territory" bands around Saint Louis, before joining the Louis Jordan big band from 1950 to 1951, playing alto saxophone and arranging. After military service in the Marines, Nelson returned to Missouri to study music composition and theory at Washington and Lincoln Universities, graduating in 1958. While back in his hometown of St. Louis, he met and married Eileen Mitchell; the couple had a son, Oliver Nelson Jr., but soon divorced. After graduation, Nelson married Audrey McEwen, a union which lasted until his death; they had a son, Nyles. Audrey was a native of St. Louis, Missouri. Nelson moved to New York, playing with Erskine Hawkins and Wild Bill Davis, and working as the house arranger for the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He also played on the West Coast briefly with the Louie Bellson big band in 1959, and in the same year began recording as leader with small groups. From 1960 to 1961 he played tenor saxophone with Quincy Jones, both in the U.S. and on tour in Europe. [edit] Breakthrough and afterwards After six albums as leader between 1959 and 1961 for the Prestige label (with such musicians as Kenny Dorham, Johnny Hammond Smith, Eric Dolphy, Roy Haynes, King Curtis and Jimmy Forrest), Nelson's big breakthrough came with The Blues and the Abstract Truth, on Impulse!, featuring the tune "Stolen Moments," now considered a standard. This made his name as a composer and arranger, and he went on to record a number of big-band albums, as well as working as an arranger for Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Eddie Davis, Johnny Hodges, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Rich, Jimmy Smith, Billy Taylor, Stanley Turrentine, Irene Reid, Gene Ammons and many others. He also led all-star big bands in various live performances between 1966 and 1975. Nelson continued to perform as a soloist during this period, though increasingly on soprano saxophone. In 1967, Nelson moved to Los Angeles. Apart from his big-band appearances (in Berlin, Montreux, New York, and Los Angeles), he toured West Africa with a small group. He also spent a great deal of time composing music for television (Ironside, Night Gallery, Columbo, The Six Million Dollar Man and Longstreet) and films (Death of a Gunfighter and he arranged Gato Barbieri's music for Last Tango in Paris). He produced and arranged for pop stars such as Nancy Wilson, James Brown, the Temptations, and Diana Ross. Less well-known is the fact that Nelson composed several symphonic works, and was also deeply involved in jazz education, returning to his alma mater, Washington University, in the summer of 1969 to lead a five-week long clinic that also featured such guest performers as Phil Woods, Mel Lewis, Thad Jones, Sir Roland Hanna, and Ron Carter. Nelson died of a heart attack on 28 October 1975, aged 43. [edit] Discography Prestige Records 1959: Meet Oliver Nelson 1960: Taking Care of Business 1960: Images 1960: Screamin' the Blues 1960: Soul Battle 1960: Nocturne 1961: Straight Ahead 1961: Main Stem 1962: Afro/American Sketches Impulse! Records 1961: The Blues and the Abstract Truth 1964: More Blues and the Abstract Truth 1966: Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle 1966: Sound Pieces 1966: Happenings with Hank Jones 1967: The Spirit of '67 with Pee Wee Russell 1967: The Kennedy Dream 1967: Live from Los Angeles 1968: Soulful Brass with Steve Allen 197_: Three Dimensions (a compilation album) Flying Dutchman Records 1968: Soulful Brass #2 1969: Black Brown and Beautiful 1970: The Mayor and the People 1970: Berlin Dialogue for Orchestra 1970: Leon Thomas In Berlin with Oliver Nelson 1971: Swiss Suite 1974: In London with Oily Rags 1975: Skull Session 1976: A Dream Deferred Other labels 1962: Full Nelson (Verve) 1962: Impressions of Phaedra (United Artists) 1964: Fantabulous (Argo) 1966: Leonard Feather Presents the Sound of Feeling and the Sound of Oliver Nelson (Verve) 1967: Jazzhattan Suite (Verve) 1973: Fugue and Bossa 1975: Stolen Moments (East Wind Records/Inner City Records) [edit] As arranger With Air Pocket Fly On (1975, East Wind Records) With Mel Brown Chicken Fat (Impulse!, 1967) With Carmen McRae Portrait of Carmen (Atlantic, 1967) With Shirley Scott For Members Only (Impulse!, 1963) Great Scott!! (Impulse!, 1964) Roll 'Em: Shirley Scott Plays the Big Bands (Impulse!, 1966) With Jimmy Smith Bashin': The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith (Verve, 1962) Hobo Flats (Verve, 1963) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Verve, 1964) Monster (Verve, 1965) Peter and the Wolf (Verve, 1966) With Wes Montgomery Goin' Out of My Head (Verve, 1965) With Count Basie Afrique (Flying Dutchman, 1970) [edit] As sideman This section requires expansion. With Quincy Jones The Quintessence (Impulse!, 1961) With Manny Albam Jazz Goes to the Movies (Impulse!, 1962) [edit] References ^ Allmusic [edit] External links Oliver Nelson — AllMusic biography by Scott Yanow Oliver Nelson — brief introduction from the Jazz Files Oliver Nelson — introduction from Impulse! Records Oliver Nelson: A Discography — Douglas Payne's site, including discographies of Nelson's work in different genres, reviews, etc. View page ratings Rate this page What's this? Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) Categories: 1932 births 1975 deaths Musicians from St. Louis, Missouri American jazz clarinetists American jazz composers American jazz saxophonists American music arrangers Hard bop saxophonists Mainstream jazz saxophonists Post-bop saxophonists Soul-jazz saxophonists Washington University in St. Louis alumni Prestige Records artists RCA Records artists Verve Records artists Impulse! Records artists Inner City Records artists Flying Dutchman Records artists Log in / create account Article Discussion Read Edit View history Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia Toolbox Print/export Languages Dansk Deutsch Español Français Italiano ????? Nederlands Português Suomi This page was last modified on 1 December 2011 at 22:15. 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