Bradford Steven "Steve" Ellington (July 26, 1941 – March 22, 2013) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

drummer. He was the grand-nephew of Duke Ellington.

Biography

Ellington picked up drums when he was four years old and played with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

when he was nine. In the latter half of the 1950s he played with Charles Brown, George Adams, and Duke Pearson. He studied for one year at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

in 1961–1962, where he played with Sam Rivers, then worked with June Christy, Joe Castro, and

Hampton Hawes Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Early life Hampton Hawes was born on ...

. He began playing with

Roland Kirk Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

in 1964, with whom he would perform and record through 1970; aside from Kirk, he played as a sideman himself with

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

, Chet Baker,

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...

, and

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...

. Concomitantly, he led his own band in 1965–1966, whose sidemen were

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...

Walter Davis, Jr. Walter Davis Jr. (September 2, 1932 – June 2, 1990) was an American bebop and hard bop pianist. Davis once left the music world to be a tailor, but returned. A soloist, bandleader, and accompanist, he amassed a body of work while never be ...

Wilbur Ware Wilbur Bernard Ware (September 8, 1923 – September 9, 1979) was an American jazz double bassist.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 674. Oxford University Press He was a regular bassist for t ...

, and C. Sharpe. In the 1970s Ellington worked with Billy Eckstine, Brick Jazz Funk Fusion,

, Art Farmer,

Freddy Cole Lionel Frederick Cole (October 15, 1931 – June 27, 2020) was an American jazz singer and pianist whose recording career spanned almost 70 years. He was the brother of musicians Nat King Cole, Eddie Cole, and Ike Cole, father of Lionel Cole, a ...

, Freddie Hubbard, Ike Isaacs,

Maxine Sullivan Maxine Sullivan (May 13, 1911 – April 7, 1987), born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer. As a vocalist, Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just b ...

Harry "Sweets" Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard bac ...

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

, and

Dan Wall Daniel Lee Wall, Jr. (born September 7, 1953, Atlanta, Georgia, US) is an American jazz organist and pianist. Wall was leading his own small group at Atlanta club the Carousel while still in high school. He attended the Berklee College of Music, ...

. He returned to work with Rivers in the period 1980–1982, played with Sonny Stitt and

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

, then put together a new ensemble of his own, which was active from 1985 to 1990. He was the drummer for

Michel Petrucciani Michel Petrucciani (; ; 28 December 1962 – 6 January 1999) was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. He became one of the most accomplish ...

's trio from 1988 to 1990, and in the 1990s worked with

Hal Galper Harold Galper (born April 18, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer. Biography He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Galper studied classical piano as a boy, but switched to jazz wh ...

, Steve Grossman, James Moody, and

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

. Ellington died in Montgomery at the age of 71. He had been dealing with cancer for about two years.

Discography

As sideman

With Art Farmer * '' On the Road'' (Contemporary, 1976) With

* ''Live at Port Townsend '91'' (Double-Time, 1991) * ''Let's Call This That'' (Double-Time, 1999) With

* ''

The Green Leaves of Summer "The Green Leaves of Summer" is a song by Paul Francis Webster, with music by Dimitri Tiomkin, written for the 1960 film '' The Alamo''. It was performed in the film's score by the vocal group The Brothers Four. In 1961, the song was nominated fo ...

'' (Contemporary, 1964) With

* '' Jumpin' In'' (ECM, 1984) With

* '' Gifts & Messages'' (Mercury, 1964) With Piero Odorici * ''Panarea'' (Jazz Today, 1997) With Sam Rivers * '' A New Conception'' (Blue Note, 1966 967 * '' Dimensions & Extensions'' (Blue Note, 1967

986 Year 986 ( CMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil II leads a Byz ...

* ''Crosscurrent: Live at Jazz Unité'' (Blue Marge, 1981

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tar ...

* '' Undulation (Archive Series Volume 5)'' (NoBusiness, 1981

021 021 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta ...

References

American jazz drummers Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) 1941 births 2013 deaths {{US-jazz-drummer-stub