Release Date: 1969
Song Count: 12
Duration: 42 minutes, 36 seconds
Rating: 7.1/10
Description:
After a long while without a trip to truly olden times, we are back in the time machine with an album from the late 60's by a revered trumpeter and composer named Don Ellis. As with many works of the time, an exact release date is hard to find, but The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground is one of many albums the man has released throughout his lifetime, and acts as a true time capsule on the jazz music scene at one of the heights of its popularity. Containing several tunes with the expected sort of instrumentation and, of course, the blaring of trumpets and brass instruments all around, this album is a proper showcase of its composer's prowess and talents.
Though many of the tracks contain no singing or vocals of any sorts, the ones that do, such as "Higher", "Send My Baby Back" and "It's Your Thing", have the voice of collaborator Patti Allen breathe further life into them by enhancing the already lively and enticing soundscape with her passionate singing. The album itself contains a mixture of some popular songs at the time and self-made songs by Ellis himself; however without looking too far into which tracks belong in which category, the style that the record molds itself around is so prevalent across all twelve songs that it is impossible to tell them apart without prior knowledge. In a way, this is an indication of Ellis and his orchestra managing to turn these imported tracks into their very own, and holds consistency and coherence across the whole project, all without sacrificing any part of their sound or letting things turn stale at any point.
An old-school hybrid jazz album worthy of much respect, The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground shines as a truly underappreciated piece of music for its time, and leads to a light and sweet listen-through that invokes true appreciation for the musicians for lending their talents into the record, and especially Don Ellis himself for organising the entire experience and bringing it all together. Albums like these make me wish I trod this sort of musical territory more often, as there is so much to explore that is simply ignored for its age and more niche genre. A solid one for sure.