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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZNELSON, Oliver(b 4 June '32, St Louis MO; d 28 Oct. '75, LA CA) Saxophones, flute, arranger, composer. From musical family; began on piano and already played in public as a child; worked with Jeter/Pillars band as a teenager, Louis Jordan early '50s, served in US Marines, then with Wild Bill Davis, Louie Bellson, others; prolific as a straightahead swinger and recording artist in jazz, also became highly regarded in classical and studio work. He wanted to play more and do less TV work, but died suddenly of a heart attack. His reputation is secure as a superb arranger/composer. He wrote a woodwind quartet and a song cycle '60--61, pieces for orchestra incl. commissions from the American Wind Orchestra, the Berliner Jazztage Festival and Mayor Carl Stokes of Cleveland; studio work incl. TV's Million Dollar Man etc; published Patterns For Saxophone. Small-group LPs on Prestige: Meet Oliver Nelson '59; Takin' Care Of Business (with Johnny Smith), Nocturne and Soul Battle (with Jimmy Forrest and King Curtis) '60; Screamin' The Blues '60 and Straight Ahead '61 with Eric Dolphy (later in two-disc set Images), Main Stem '61 with Hank Jones. Switched to Impulse for masterpiece The Blues And The Abstract Truth '61, with septet incl. Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans, an important album in the composer/ arranger genre. A big-band album on Verve was apparently called Full Nelson '62; this was followed by More Blues And The Abstract Truth '64 with Phil Woods, Pepper Adams; then With Oily Rags (Chas and Dave) on Flying Dutchman '74, Stolen Moments on Inner City '75. Big-band sets incl. Afro-American Sketches '61 on Prestige; Fantabulous '64 on Argo; Sound Pieces For Jazz Orchestra and Michelle '66, Live From Los Angeles and Musical Tribute To JFK '67 (aka The Kennedy Dream) on Impulse; Black, Brown And Beautiful '69, Berlin Dialogue For Orchestra '70, Swiss Suite '71, Oliver Nelson Meeets Oily Rags '74 (see Chas and Dave) and a superb album with Johnny Hodges and Leon Thomas on RCA (Black, Brown And Beautiful '89 on RCA/BMG CD filled up with Oily Rags tracks). Also Wes Montgomery's Out Of My Head '65, a Bud Shank album '66 etc. The Impulse LPs were prod. by Bob Thiele as were the Flying Dutchmans. The JFK album had not been reissued on CD in the mid-'90s, the Kennedy escutcheon a little tarnished by the years, but Phil Woods (who played on several Nelson albums) said it was one of his best. He also did TV and film music (Death Of A Gunfighter '69 etc). |