- Don who, you may ask? ELECTRIC HEART -don Ellis is the incredible story of the Man, his Times and the Music of Donald Johnson Ellis 1934-1978. Completely forgotten about in Jazz, Ellis created a "Fusion" between Jazz, Classical and Rock long before anyone else thought of it. His Electric Orchestras still maintain the most complex modern day music ever written, then and now! Pulitzer Winning Composer Gunther Schuller discovered Don Ellis at Boston University in the 1960's and introduced him to Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein hires Ellis as a Soloist for a National Television Show (The Young Peoples Concert) and Ellis was off and running. Known for his strange and odd-metered arrangements, Ellis took Jazz to new heights and never looked back. He was under-Produced and mis-Marketed and even though he was one of Jazz's most exciting acts ever, his music has been completely forgotten about and seldom played on the radio and his music generally speaking is hard to come by. He is truly one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century and as the late Jazz Legend Maynard Ferguson states in the film; "He was really something magical! ELECTRIC HEART gets to the bottom of why Ellis was and is left out of the mix and explains his life story as a re-discovery of his music with testimonials from some of the all time greats of the Jazz World. Lest we ever forget Don Ellis.—John Vizzusi
- Synopsis
ELECTRIC HEART don ellis is the film the Commerical Music Industry is afraid to see!
How is it possible one of the greatest and most innovative Musical Artist's of the 20th Century has almost been completely forgotton?
ELECTRIC HEART tells the story of Don Ellis, a Composer, a Arranger, a Band Leader,Trumpet Player and Grammy Winner whoms motto was "Experimentation before Entertainment."
He was the first Jazz Artist to use electronics within a Orchestrated Big Band although he is not credited for doing so. He was under-produced and mis-interupted within the Commercial Recording Industry whilist standing out as one of the most innovative musicians of all time!
One of the hardest "live acts" to follow, The Don Ellis Band premiered in the late 1960's and recorded up to the late 1970's.
Ellis died in 1978 of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the young age of 44.
He scored "The French Connection" & "French Connection II" and won the grammy for best Instrumental Arrangement for the Title Track of FC in 1972.
His music is cherished and loved internationally and generally speaking for those that remember him thought of as a musical artist like nobody before or after him... he was truly one-of-a-kind.
ELECTRIC HEART honors Don Ellis and for the first time tells his life story though testimonials from jazz giants such as the late Maynard Ferguson and Bulgarian Pianist & Compoer, Milcho Leviev. Testimonials also include Pulitzer Winning Composer, Gunther Schuller and many of The Don Ellis Bandmembers including Fred Selden & San Falzone. Ellis himself appears in a interview never seen by the public and restored musical footage of the Monterey Jazz Festival 66', The Concord Jazz Festival 69' and a PBS Special in San Francisco overwhelms the film with the diversity, the sheer electricity and genius of Don Ellis.
Every Musical School of higher learning needs to see this film as well as Jazz lovers thoughout the world.
"This is not a film about Jazz per say but a Film about a musical artist that re-defined Jazz."
The goal of the film is to bring back the name of Don Ellis and to educate others to his incredible music.
Synopsis by: John Vizzusi, Filmmaker
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content