Gil Mellé
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Gilbert John Mellé (December 31, 1931 – October 28, 2004) was an American
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
musician, film score composer, and artist.


Life and career

In the 1950s, Mellé created the cover art for albums by
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
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Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...
. Mellé led a number of sessions recorded for the
Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...
and
Prestige Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...
labels between 1952 and 1957. He also appeared at the first
Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...
, leading a band that also contained Joe Cinderella,
Vinnie Burke Vinnie Burke (born Vincenzo Bucci) (March 15, 1921 – February 1, 2001) was an American jazz bassist born in Newark, New Jersey.Leonard Feather & Ira Gitler ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' Oxford University Press (1999) p94 Burke playe ...
, and
Ed Thigpen Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biograph ...
. As a film and TV composer, Mellé was one of the first to use self-built electronic instruments, either alone or as an added voice among the string, wind, brass, and percussion sections of the orchestra. Mellé died in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
on October 28, 2004.


Discography


As composer and arranger

*'' Gil Mellé Quintet/Sextet (New Faces - New Sounds)'' (Blue Note, 1953) *'' Gil Mellé Quintet with Urbie Green and Tal Farlow - Volume 2'' (Blue Note, 1953) *'' Gil Mellé Quartet featuring Lou Mecca - Volume 3'' (Blue Note, 1954) *'' Gil Mellé Quintet with Don Butterfield - 5 Impressions of Color'' (Blue Note, 1955) *'' Patterns in Jazz'' (Blue Note, 1956) *'' Primitive Modern'' (Prestige, 1956) *'' Gil's Guests'' (Prestige, 1956) *'' Quadrama'' (Prestige, 1957) *'' Tome VI'' (Verve, 1967) *''Waterbirds'' (Nocturne, 1970) *''The Andromeda Strain'' (Kapp, 1971) *''Mindscape'' (Blue Note, 1989) - Discogs * ''The Organization'' (Intrada, 2010). World premiere release of the original soundtrack of the 1971 film. Produced by Douglass Fake. Liner notes by James Phillips. Art Direction by Joe Sikoyak. * ''Borderline'' (Intrada, 2012). World premiere release of the original score to the 1980 film. Produced by Douglass Fake. Liner Notes by James Phillips. Art Direction by Joe Sikoyak.


Film scores

* ''The Andromeda Strain'' (1971) * ''The Organization'' (1971) * ''The Manipulator'' (1971) * '' You'll Like My Mother'' (1972) * ''Bone'' (1972) * ''The Ultimate Warrior'' (1975) * ''Embryo'' (1976) * '' Starship Invasions'' (1977) * ''The Sentinel'' (1977) * '' Blood Beach'' (1980) * ''Borderline'' (1980) * ''
The Last Chase ''The Last Chase'' is a 1981 Canadian-American dystopian science fiction film directed by Martyn Burke who was also the producer on the film, produced for Argosy Films. The film stars Lee Majors, Chris Makepeace and Burgess Meredith in a futuris ...
'' (1981) * ''Hot Target'' (1985)


Television scores


Television series

* ''Ironside'' (1968) - 1 episode * ''
Then Came Bronson ''Then Came Bronson'' is an American adventure/drama television series starring Michael Parks that aired on NBC. It was created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, and produced by MGM Television. ''Then Came Bronson'' began with a television film pilot t ...
'' (1969–70) - 2 episodes * ''
Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...
'' (1969–73) - Theme music * '' The Psychiatrist'' (1970–71) - Theme music * ''
Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...
'' (1971–72) - 4 episodes * ''Tenafly'' (1973) - 4 episodes * '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' (1974–75) - Theme music * ''World War III'' (1982) - Miniseries * ''Fatal Vision'' (1984) - Miniseries * '' Veronica Clare'' (1991) - 9 episodes


Television films

* ''Lieutenant Schuster's Wife'' (1972) * ''
That Certain Summer ''That Certain Summer'' is a 1972 American made-for-television drama film directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link was considered the first sympathetic depiction of gay people on American television. Prod ...
'' (1972) * ''The Victim'' (1972) * '' The Judge and Jake Wyler'' (1972) * '' The Astronaut'' (1972) * ''
Future Shock ''Future Shock'' is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his wife Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies, and a ...
'' (1972) * ''
A Cold Night's Death ''A Cold Night's Death'' (also known as ''The Chill Factor'') is a 1973 American made for television horror-thriller film. The film was shown on January 30, 1973, on the ABC network. The film was directed by Jerrold Freedman and starred Ro ...
'' (1973) * ''
The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After being seriously injured in a NASA test f ...
'' (1973) * ''Partners in Crime'' (1973) * ''Savage'' (1973) * ''The President's Plane Is Missing'' (1973) * '' Trapped'' (1973) * ''The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping'' (1973) * '' Frankenstein: The True Story'' (1973) * ''Legend in Granite'' (1973) * ''
The Questor Tapes ''The Questor Tapes'' is a 1974 American made-for-television sci-fi drama film about an android (portrayed by Robert Foxworth) with incomplete memory tapes who is searching for his creator and his purpose. Conceived by Gene Roddenberry, who is ...
'' (1974) * ''Killdozer!'' (1974) * ''Hitchhike'' (1974) * ''The Last Angry Man'' (1974) * ''
The Savage Is Loose ''The Savage Is Loose'' is a 1974 American drama film produced and directed by George C. Scott. It stars Scott, Trish Van Devere, John David Carson and Lee H. Montgomery. Plot In 1902, John, his wife Maida and their infant son David are the ...
'' (1974) * ''The Missing Are Deadly'' (1975) * ''A Cry for Help'' (1975) * ''The Imposter'' (1975) * ''Crime Club'' (1975) * '' Death Scream'' (1975) * ''The Art of Crime'' (1975) * ''Dynasty'' (1976) * ''Perilous Voyage'' (1976) * '' Gold of the Amazon Women'' (1979) * '' A Vacation in Hell'' (1979) * ''Attica'' (1980) * ''The Curse of King Tut's Tomb'' (1980) * '' Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case'' (1980) * ''The Intruder Within'' (1981) * ''Through Naked Eyes'' (1983) * ''Jealousy'' (1984) * ''Best Kept Secrets'' (1984) * '' Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac'' (1984) * ''Sweet Revenge'' (1984) * ''Starcrossed'' (1985) * ''When Dreams Come True'' (1985) * ''Killer in the Mirror'' (1986) * ''
The Deliberate Stranger ''The Deliberate Stranger'' is a book about American serial killer Ted Bundy written by ''Seattle Times'' reporter Richard W. Larsen that was published in 1980. The book spawned a television miniseries of the same title, starring Mark Harmon as ...
'' (1986) * '' Circle of Violence: A Family Drama'' (1986) * ''Stillwatch'' (1987) * '' The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story'' (1988) * ''From the Dead of Night'' (1989) * ''The Case Of The Hillside Stranglers'' (1989) * ''So Proudly We Hail'' (1990) * ''Good Cops, Bad Cops'' (1990) * ''Fire: Trapped on the 37th Floor'' (1991) * ''Night Owl'' (1993)


Awards and nominations

* 1972
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications out ...
: ''The Andromeda Strain'' (nominated)


References


External links

*
Obituary
- ''All About Jazz'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melle, Gil 1931 births 2004 deaths American film score composers American male jazz composers American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Blue Note Records artists 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors 20th-century American saxophonists American male film score composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American jazz composers