WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.960 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We are really thrilled 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:04.559 to have you with us today. Yeah, thanks for joining 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:08.359 us. You know, if you're anything like me, you 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:10.320 probably have a playlist full of those songs 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:12.480 that just make you want to move. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:14.460 You know the ones I mean, the songs with bass 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.100 lines that just get stuck in your head and horn 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:19.219 sections that practically punch through the speakers. 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:21.120 Right, the stuff that immediately shifts your 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:24.719 mood. Exactly. But there's a really strong chance 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:28.039 that one of the primary architects of that exact 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:31.000 feeling The literal blueprint for what we now 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.880 call funk music is a name you might not actually 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:37.560 know. It's a remarkable hidden history, really, 00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:40.460 because today we are looking at the life, the 00:00:40.460 --> 00:00:43.520 incredibly extensive discography and the legacy 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:45.920 of Alfred James Rogers. Right. Though to the 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:48.359 world and certainly to the generations of musicians 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:50.979 who just revered him, he was universally known 00:00:50.979 --> 00:00:54.420 as Pee Wee Ellis. Pee Wee Ellis. So our mission 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:57.420 for you today is to explore how this one incredible 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:00.659 musician's journey provided the exact ingredients 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:04.459 needed to literally invent an entire. new genre. 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:07.140 Yeah, and it's quite a journey. It really is. 00:01:07.219 --> 00:01:10.640 We are going to trace his path from a deeply 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:14.439 segregated childhood to this really rigorous, 00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:17.560 obsessive jazz training. And we'll look at how 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:20.439 his influence quietly bridges just countless 00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:23.019 musical genres. Because you have almost certainly 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:25.219 heard his groundbreaking arrangements, even if 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:26.939 his name hasn't crossed your radar. Definitely. 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:29.359 The impact of his work is so deeply embedded 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:31.840 in modern music that it continually resurfaces. 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:34.219 I mean, to give you an idea of that lasting power, 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:38.620 a single song he co -wrote back in 1968 saw a 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:43.400 staggering 15 ,740 % jump in streams in just 00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:46.040 one week. And that was in the year 2020. Right. 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:48.719 Over 50 years later. It's an unbelievable statistic. 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:52.650 15 ,740%. And it really sets the stage for what 00:01:52.650 --> 00:01:54.689 we're going to uncover here. His story is one 00:01:54.689 --> 00:01:57.349 of profound resilience, relentless dedication 00:01:57.349 --> 00:02:00.349 to his craft, and this amazing open -mindedness. 00:02:00.510 --> 00:02:02.390 Which allowed him to constantly reinvent himself 00:02:02.390 --> 00:02:04.709 over a career spanning more than six decades. 00:02:05.010 --> 00:02:07.109 And that reinvention didn't happen by accident. 00:02:07.150 --> 00:02:09.590 It was a result of a very specific, very challenging 00:02:09.590 --> 00:02:12.310 foundation. Okay, let's unpack this. We have 00:02:12.310 --> 00:02:14.550 to start at the beginning to really understand 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:18.879 the man and the music. Alfred James Rogers. was 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:22.599 born in Bradenton, Florida in 1941. Right. His 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:25.180 biological father left when he was young. And 00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:28.740 then in 1949, his mother married a man named 00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:32.080 Ezell Ellis. And Ezell was an organizer for local 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:34.580 dance bands. Which meant music was immediately 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:37.080 a permanent fixture in the house. Constantly. 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:39.240 The family eventually ended up moving to Lubbock, 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:41.319 Texas. And we have to remember Lubbock at that 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:44.710 time was a highly segregated town. But inside 00:02:44.710 --> 00:02:47.189 the Ellis home, there was this constant flow 00:02:47.189 --> 00:02:49.990 of creativity. A safe haven of sorts. Exactly. 00:02:50.289 --> 00:02:52.250 Various musicians were always passing through 00:02:52.250 --> 00:02:54.169 and staying with the family. It was actually 00:02:54.169 --> 00:02:56.810 these visiting musicians who gave him the nickname 00:02:56.810 --> 00:02:59.169 Pee Wee. Just because of his small stature as 00:02:59.169 --> 00:03:01.270 a kid, right? Yeah, just a term of endearment 00:03:01.270 --> 00:03:03.370 that stuck with him his entire life. But the 00:03:03.370 --> 00:03:05.689 realities of living in deeply segregated Texas 00:03:05.689 --> 00:03:08.780 in the 1950s? They couldn't be kept outside the 00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:11.319 door forever. No, they couldn't. And it's vital 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:14.199 to look at a deeply tragic reality from 1955 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:17.060 to truly understand the worldview that shaped 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:19.789 Ellis's later work. While they were living in 00:03:19.789 --> 00:03:22.229 Lubbock, a horrific event occurred. The source 00:03:22.229 --> 00:03:24.490 material notes that a white woman insisted on 00:03:24.490 --> 00:03:27.189 dancing with his stepfather, Ezell. Right. This 00:03:27.189 --> 00:03:29.870 interaction enraged a white man who was watching, 00:03:30.030 --> 00:03:33.050 and that man stabbed Ezell. It's just devastating. 00:03:33.289 --> 00:03:35.210 And the tragedy didn't end with the attack itself. 00:03:35.449 --> 00:03:39.129 No. The aftermath was equally horrific. Ezell, 00:03:39.250 --> 00:03:41.430 who was African -American, subsequently died 00:03:41.430 --> 00:03:44.469 because a local hospital explicitly refused to 00:03:44.469 --> 00:03:46.830 treat him based entirely on the color of his 00:03:46.830 --> 00:03:48.710 skin. He was only a young teenager when that 00:03:48.710 --> 00:03:52.310 happened. To lose a father figure in such a brutal, 00:03:52.469 --> 00:03:55.250 systematically unjust way. If we connect this 00:03:55.250 --> 00:03:57.610 to the bigger picture, this early exposure to 00:03:57.610 --> 00:04:01.090 extreme, fatal racial injustice forms a vital, 00:04:01.189 --> 00:04:03.729 undeniable backdrop to the powerful civil rights 00:04:03.729 --> 00:04:05.669 anthems that Pee Wee Ellis would go on to write 00:04:05.669 --> 00:04:07.889 and arrange just a decade later. The emotion 00:04:07.889 --> 00:04:11.289 was earned. Exactly. The emotional weight behind 00:04:11.289 --> 00:04:14.349 his most culturally significant music didn't 00:04:14.349 --> 00:04:16.870 come from nowhere. It came from a very real, 00:04:17.170 --> 00:04:20.269 very painful lived experience. Following that 00:04:20.269 --> 00:04:23.069 tragedy, the remaining family moved north to 00:04:23.069 --> 00:04:25.490 Rochester, New York. And here's where it gets 00:04:25.490 --> 00:04:28.610 really interesting, because Rochester is where 00:04:28.610 --> 00:04:31.430 his musical drive goes into absolute overdrive. 00:04:31.509 --> 00:04:33.990 He was a prodigy in a lot of ways. He gave his 00:04:33.990 --> 00:04:35.970 first public performance at Dunbar Junior High 00:04:35.970 --> 00:04:38.910 School in 1954. But by the time he was at Madison 00:04:38.910 --> 00:04:40.550 High School, he was already playing professionally. 00:04:40.750 --> 00:04:42.509 And he wasn't just playing with anyone either. 00:04:42.569 --> 00:04:45.050 He was gigging with future jazz heavyweights. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.300 People like Ron Carter, the legendary bassist. 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:51.259 Wow. And Chuck Mangione. He was immersing himself 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:54.139 in the absolute highest levels of local talent. 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:57.720 Then comes 1957. He's visiting a Broadway saxophone 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.279 repair shop, and he literally bumps into the 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:02.860 jazz legend, Sonny Rollins. Just a chance encounter. 00:05:03.259 --> 00:05:05.449 And Pee Wee doesn't hesitate. He just flat out 00:05:05.449 --> 00:05:07.709 asked him for saxophone lessons. Which is bold. 00:05:07.930 --> 00:05:09.970 And Sonny Rollins actually agrees to it, which 00:05:09.970 --> 00:05:13.089 is incredible in its own right. But he agrees 00:05:13.089 --> 00:05:15.730 to teach him weekly on one specific condition. 00:05:16.129 --> 00:05:19.050 Ellis has to fly from Rochester down to New York 00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:21.850 City for the lessons. Wait, he has to fly? As 00:05:21.850 --> 00:05:25.649 a teenager in 1957? Yes. And this is where we 00:05:25.649 --> 00:05:27.470 see the sheer mathematics of his dedication. 00:05:27.990 --> 00:05:30.569 Ellis was playing gigs at a local club in Rochester 00:05:30.569 --> 00:05:34.269 called the Pythod Room, earning about $90 a week. 00:05:34.670 --> 00:05:37.370 Okay, $90. The round -trip flight to New York 00:05:37.370 --> 00:05:41.569 City was $55. Out of a $90 paycheck. He was spending 00:05:41.569 --> 00:05:44.209 well over half of his weekly income just on the 00:05:44.209 --> 00:05:46.529 commute. That's incredible. And that doesn't 00:05:46.529 --> 00:05:49.149 even factor in the cost of living or paying for 00:05:49.149 --> 00:05:51.550 the lessons themselves. That is an immense level 00:05:51.550 --> 00:05:54.050 of sacrifice. I mean, to put that into perspective 00:05:54.050 --> 00:05:56.970 for you listening, imagine having a part -time 00:05:56.970 --> 00:05:59.949 job today and deciding to spend 60 % of your 00:05:59.949 --> 00:06:02.769 paycheck on the commute to a master class every 00:06:02.769 --> 00:06:05.490 single week. without fail it's an astonishing 00:06:05.490 --> 00:06:08.430 logistical and financial commitment but this 00:06:08.430 --> 00:06:11.629 rigorous expensive dedication to mastering jazz 00:06:11.629 --> 00:06:14.430 is exactly what laid the technical foundation 00:06:14.430 --> 00:06:16.490 for everything that followed because he wasn't 00:06:16.490 --> 00:06:19.050 just learning how to play scales faster no not 00:06:19.050 --> 00:06:21.370 at all and he later attended the manhattan school 00:06:21.370 --> 00:06:24.089 of music to further hone those skills he was 00:06:24.089 --> 00:06:27.149 learning the deep complex architecture of jazz 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:30.019 What does that actually mean in practice when 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:32.060 you say the architecture of jazz? It means he 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:34.399 was learning how to arrange, how to compose, 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:37.459 and how to structure sound across multiple instruments. 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:41.199 Jazz theory involves understanding complex chord 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:44.379 progressions, harmonies, and syncopation. Placing 00:06:44.379 --> 00:06:46.000 rhythmic stresses where they wouldn't normally 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:49.500 occur. Exactly. He was building a massive toolkit 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:52.040 of musical knowledge. Which brings us to 1965. 00:06:53.330 --> 00:06:55.769 Ellis moves back to Florida, works as a band 00:06:55.769 --> 00:06:58.230 leader, and then gets an invitation from a friend, 00:06:58.370 --> 00:07:01.050 a trumpeter named Wayman Reed. To join the James 00:07:01.050 --> 00:07:03.670 Brown review. Right, the godfather of soul. He 00:07:03.670 --> 00:07:06.149 joins on alto sax, eventually switching to tenor. 00:07:06.170 --> 00:07:08.470 And because of that massive toolkit he had built, 00:07:08.550 --> 00:07:10.930 within two years, he is James Brown's musical 00:07:10.930 --> 00:07:13.750 director. Over their time together until 1969, 00:07:14.310 --> 00:07:17.550 Ellis co -wrote 26 songs with Brown. And this 00:07:17.550 --> 00:07:19.829 is the crucible where an entirely new genre is 00:07:19.829 --> 00:07:22.370 forged. What's fascinating here is how Ellis 00:07:22.370 --> 00:07:24.649 himself defined what happened during those years. 00:07:25.050 --> 00:07:28.129 He explicitly stated later in life that it was 00:07:28.129 --> 00:07:31.050 his rigorous jazz influence merging with James 00:07:31.050 --> 00:07:34.790 Brown's raw R &B background that literally created 00:07:34.790 --> 00:07:37.870 funk. So it was a true blending of their two 00:07:37.870 --> 00:07:40.899 worlds. Yes. It is crucial to understand that 00:07:40.899 --> 00:07:43.519 funk wasn't just a happy accident or a jam session 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:46.060 that went right. It was a deliberate musical 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:48.959 synthesis. Like a chemical reaction. You have 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:51.779 Brown's incredible rhythmic energy and gospel 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:54.660 R &B roots on one side. On the other side, you 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:58.500 have Ellis applying this sophisticated Sonny 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:02.000 Rollins -level jazz theory to the horn arrangements. 00:08:02.889 --> 00:08:04.769 But he wasn't writing traditional jazz horn lines. 00:08:04.850 --> 00:08:06.750 As far from it. In traditional big band or swing 00:08:06.750 --> 00:08:09.089 jazz, the horns often play these long, sweeping, 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:11.490 melodic lines. What Ellis did was completely 00:08:11.490 --> 00:08:14.029 deconstruct that. How so? He took the horns and 00:08:14.029 --> 00:08:16.089 chopped the notes up. He wrote these tight, complex, 00:08:16.250 --> 00:08:18.410 syncopated horn lines that hit hard on the beat. 00:08:18.589 --> 00:08:20.529 So the brass section is essentially acting like 00:08:20.529 --> 00:08:23.709 a drum kit. Precisely that concept. The saxophones 00:08:23.709 --> 00:08:26.300 and trumpets became percussive instruments. He 00:08:26.300 --> 00:08:28.500 brought a highly educated structural discipline 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:31.000 to the raw groove that James Brown was naturally 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:33.559 feeling. And the results were anthems that completely 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:37.419 redefined popular music. Ellis arranged and co 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:40.379 -wrote massive hits, most notably Cold Sweat 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:44.470 in 1967. Cold Sweat is a massive milestone. Many 00:08:44.470 --> 00:08:47.629 musicologists consider it the first true funk 00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:50.009 song. The very first. Yeah. It abandoned the 00:08:50.009 --> 00:08:52.230 traditional chord changes of R &B and instead 00:08:52.230 --> 00:08:54.870 locked into a single hypnotic groove driven by 00:08:54.870 --> 00:08:57.470 those percussive horn stabs Ellis arranged. But 00:08:57.470 --> 00:08:59.889 then, in 1968, they release a track that goes 00:08:59.889 --> 00:09:02.289 far beyond just musical innovation. They release 00:09:02.289 --> 00:09:05.029 Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud. A song 00:09:05.029 --> 00:09:07.340 that absolutely shook the culture. The historical 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:09.620 context here is critical to understanding the 00:09:09.620 --> 00:09:11.840 impact. The sources clearly established that 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:14.299 Say It Loud was intended directly as a response 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:16.340 to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:19.580 Right. The country was grieving, angry, and demanding 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:22.860 change. This track became a new, unadulterated 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:25.659 anthem for African Americans. You can hear the 00:09:25.659 --> 00:09:27.950 resilience we talked about earlier. pouring out 00:09:27.950 --> 00:09:30.970 of that arrangement. It's bold, it's unapologetic, 00:09:31.009 --> 00:09:33.210 and it's structurally brilliant. Pee Wee Ellis 00:09:33.210 --> 00:09:36.450 actually recalled the immediate visceral impact 00:09:36.450 --> 00:09:39.929 of the song. He noted, and I quote, in two weeks, 00:09:39.990 --> 00:09:41.809 it was like it had swept across the country. 00:09:41.970 --> 00:09:44.090 We were doing three shows a day at the Apollo, 00:09:44.250 --> 00:09:46.389 and people queued around the block every day 00:09:46.389 --> 00:09:49.190 for every show. Three shows a day at the Apollo 00:09:49.190 --> 00:09:51.929 with lines around the block. You can almost feel 00:09:51.929 --> 00:09:54.230 the energy radiating off the pavement just thinking 00:09:54.230 --> 00:09:56.669 about it. It wasn't just a concert. It was a 00:09:56.750 --> 00:09:59.330 rallying cry. And that energy didn't dissipate 00:09:59.330 --> 00:10:02.269 when the 1960s ended. We see how deeply that 00:10:02.269 --> 00:10:05.870 specific song resonates across generations. Following 00:10:05.870 --> 00:10:07.690 the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:11.149 Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Say It Loud. 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:14.000 gained a massive resurgence. Which brings us 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.100 back to that incredible statistic from the beginning 00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:20.340 of our deep dive. The 15 ,740 % jump in streaming 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:22.919 in a single week. This raises an important question 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:25.960 for you as the listener to reflect on. How does 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:28.820 music serve as a lasting vehicle for social movements? 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.940 Why do certain arrangements, certain grooves, 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:34.940 endure for decades to give voice to new generations? 00:10:35.299 --> 00:10:37.379 It has to be that perfect marriage of message 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:41.850 and raw, undeniable rhythm. It bypassed the intellect 00:10:41.850 --> 00:10:44.190 and went straight to the soul. Ellis himself 00:10:44.190 --> 00:10:46.850 reflected on those pioneer days of funk, noting 00:10:46.850 --> 00:10:49.529 that it was a music that heralded a new attitude. 00:10:49.889 --> 00:10:53.429 He called it a new and distinctive black culture, 00:10:53.529 --> 00:10:56.309 a street culture, finding confidence and popularity 00:10:56.309 --> 00:10:59.169 outside and alongside the establishment. He helped 00:10:59.169 --> 00:11:00.889 build a house that people are still living in 00:11:00.889 --> 00:11:03.850 today. Every time a modern hip hop producer samples 00:11:03.850 --> 00:11:06.450 a tight James Brown horn break, they are sampling 00:11:06.450 --> 00:11:08.769 Pee Wee Ellis's brain. Absolutely. But what I 00:11:08.769 --> 00:11:10.529 love about him is that he didn't just stay in 00:11:10.529 --> 00:11:13.049 that house. He refused to be categorized. Exactly. 00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:15.350 He didn't just say, cool, I invented funk. My 00:11:15.350 --> 00:11:17.389 work here is done. He was the ultimate genre 00:11:17.389 --> 00:11:21.370 chameleon. By 1969, he leaves James Brown and 00:11:21.370 --> 00:11:23.789 heads back to New York City. He becomes an arranger 00:11:23.789 --> 00:11:26.610 and musical director for CTI Records' Kudu label. 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.899 Here, he's working with phenomenal jazz and soul 00:11:29.899 --> 00:11:32.379 artists like George Benson, Hank Crawford, and 00:11:32.379 --> 00:11:34.220 Esther Phillips. So he's adapting his style. 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:36.820 Adapting it to fit their unique voices, proving 00:11:36.820 --> 00:11:39.620 his vast versatility as an arranger. And he just 00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:42.960 keeps moving. In the late 1970s, he heads out 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:45.559 to San Francisco. He forms a band with David 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.139 Liebman. who was a former sideman for Miles Davis. 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.179 Together, they recorded a track called The Chicken. 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:53.600 And while it might have seemed like just another 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.320 session at the time, that specific track ended 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:58.460 up becoming a legendary favorite for the iconic 00:11:58.460 --> 00:12:01.799 bassist Jaco Pistorius. Wow. It became a staple 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:04.419 in the jazz fusion world. It just shows how respected 00:12:04.419 --> 00:12:07.320 Ellis was by the absolute best players in the 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:09.919 world. But then comes one of the most unexpected 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:13.480 turns in his career. The trumpeter Mark Asham 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.299 asks Ellis to perform on a track for Van Morrison. 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:18.419 It seems like an unlikely pairing on the surface. 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:21.460 The pioneer of American funk and the mystic poet 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:23.779 of Northern Irish soul. Ellis ends up writing 00:12:23.779 --> 00:12:25.919 this incredibly funky arrangement for a song 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:28.990 called You Make Me Feel So Free. And that single 00:12:28.990 --> 00:12:31.769 arrangement impressed Van Morrison so much that 00:12:31.769 --> 00:12:33.529 it altered the course of both their careers. 00:12:33.809 --> 00:12:36.610 It led directly to Ellis creating all of the 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:39.970 tracks on Morrison's 1979 album Into the Music. 00:12:40.250 --> 00:12:42.610 That blows my mind. He didn't just sit in for 00:12:42.610 --> 00:12:45.409 a session. No, he took over the sonic landscape 00:12:45.409 --> 00:12:48.029 of the entire album. It sparked a collaboration 00:12:48.029 --> 00:12:50.590 and touring relationship that endured for over 00:12:50.590 --> 00:12:53.730 20 years. Ellis worked as Morrison's arranger 00:12:53.730 --> 00:12:56.549 and musical director until 1986 and then again 00:12:56.549 --> 00:13:00.370 from 1995. to 1999, plus dozens of guest appearances 00:13:00.370 --> 00:13:02.690 in the years following. We have to really look 00:13:02.690 --> 00:13:04.990 at the theme of genre fluidity here. How does 00:13:04.990 --> 00:13:08.419 a guy who arranged Cold Sweat. seamlessly integrate 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:11.940 into Van Morrison's incredibly unique, soulful, 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:14.539 Celtic -tinged sound. It goes right back to the 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:16.840 Manhattan School of Music and those $55 flights 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:19.360 to see Sonny Rollins. Exactly. He fundamentally 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:21.539 understood the architecture of music, regardless 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:24.279 of the cultural wrapping. He didn't just force 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:26.600 a James Brownhorn section onto a Van Morrison 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:28.419 track. Right, he wasn't a one -trick pony trying 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:30.500 to make Van Morrison sound like the godfather 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:32.639 of soul. He listened to what the song needed. 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:35.840 He used his profound jazz background to understand 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:38.320 the harmony and the emotional intent of Morrison's 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:41.240 songwriting, and he elevated it. A master musician 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:45.000 serves the song, not their own ego. That adaptability 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:48.240 is staggering. Let's look at some of his later 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:50.940 triumphs, because the sheer variety across the 00:13:50.940 --> 00:13:54.039 globe is astounding. In the late 80s, he regroups 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:56.799 with his old James Brown bandmates, Maceo Parker 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:00.179 and Fred Wesley. They form the J .B. Horns. And 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:02.000 instead of just playing nostalgia tours, they 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.620 define this whole new jazz funk sound. They toured 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:07.139 extensively across Europe, finding massive audiences 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:09.779 who revere their instrumental prowess. Then we 00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:12.919 jump to 1995, and he completely shifts geographic 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.799 and musical gears again. He arranges the horns 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:18.419 for the Malian singer Umusangar. She's known 00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:21.440 as the songbird of Waslu. Yes, on her album Waratan. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:25.159 This is a crucial era to examine. Waslu music 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:28.539 is a deeply traditional West African style, known 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.299 for its strong... vocals and specific instrumentation, 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:34.159 like the Kamali Angoni, a type of harp. Bringing 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:36.399 an American funk and jazz arranger into that 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:39.360 mix is a bold cultural bridge. And he was doing 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:41.460 this on the World Circuit label, which is famous 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:44.279 for facilitating these incredible global collaborations. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:47.139 He was working with global icons. Aside from 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:49.940 Umu Sengar, he collaborated with Ali Farkatur, 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:52.940 the legendary guitarist from Mali who blended 00:14:52.940 --> 00:14:55.299 traditional Malian music with the blues. He also 00:14:55.299 --> 00:14:57.919 worked with the renowned Cuban bassist Cachao, 00:14:58.100 --> 00:15:00.340 one of the the creators of Mambo. From the Pythaud 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:02.500 Room in Rochester to the Apollo in Harlem to 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:05.059 Celtic Soul to West African traditional music 00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:08.179 to Cuban Mambo. If we synthesize these facts, 00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:11.600 a clear, undeniable picture emerges. Pee Wee 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:14.320 Ellis was a musician who saw absolutely no borders. 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:18.259 From 2009 to 2011, he led the Still Black, Still 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:21.480 Proud African tribute tours to James Brown, explicitly 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:24.299 linking American funk back to its African roots. 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:26.879 And even in his 70s, he wasn't slowing down. 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:29.740 In 2012, he was touring with the Ginger Baker 00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:32.440 Jazz Confusion Quartet, playing alongside the 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:35.240 legendary and notoriously intense rock drummer 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:37.899 from Cream. He was a working musician to the 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:41.559 absolute end. He valued collaboration above all 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:45.440 else. His career is a testament to the idea that 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:48.279 true mastery of your craft gives you the freedom 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:51.059 to go anywhere and converse with anyone, musically 00:15:51.059 --> 00:15:53.259 speaking. He wasn't interested in being put in 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:56.019 a box, and his legacy is a masterclass in breaking 00:15:56.019 --> 00:15:58.539 out of them. So let's wrap up the biographical 00:15:58.539 --> 00:16:01.460 details of this incredible life. Pee Wee Ellis 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:03.840 received a well -deserved honorary doctorate 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:06.779 from Bath Spa University in 2014, recognizing 00:16:06.779 --> 00:16:09.720 his immense contributions to global music. His 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:12.299 cultural footprint even extended to cinema. He 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:14.179 was portrayed on the big screen by the rapper 00:16:14.179 --> 00:16:16.480 Tariq Trotter, better known as Black Thought 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.220 from The Roots. That was in the 2014 James Brown 00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:21.960 biopic Get On Up. A fitting tribute from a hip 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:24.679 hop legend to a funk pioneer. He actually spent 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:26.820 the last 30 years of his life residing in England, 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:29.480 quietly supporting local music as a patron of 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:31.460 the Bristol International Blues and Jazz Festival 00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:35.379 before passing away on September 23, 2021 at 00:16:35.379 --> 00:16:37.940 the age of 80. A monumental loss, but an enduring 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:40.919 catalog. So what does this all mean? We've covered 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:43.259 a massive expanse of history, a lot of different 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:46.200 genres, and the evolution of a man who changed 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:48.700 the sound of the 20th century. It means that 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:51.179 the music you enjoy today is built on a foundation 00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:54.480 of incredibly rich, deeply layered, hidden histories. 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:57.220 The next time you listen to your favorite genre 00:16:57.220 --> 00:16:59.679 -blending playlist, or you hear a sample of a 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:02.509 tight horn section on a modern track, Remember 00:17:02.509 --> 00:17:05.109 Pee Wee Ellis. Remember the rigorous dedication 00:17:05.109 --> 00:17:08.630 of a teenager flying to New York on $55 just 00:17:08.630 --> 00:17:11.710 to learn the deep architecture of jazz. Remember 00:17:11.710 --> 00:17:14.630 the resilience of a young man overcoming profound, 00:17:14.930 --> 00:17:18.529 tragic racial injustice to eventually write anthems 00:17:18.529 --> 00:17:20.450 of empowerment that still resonate globally. 00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:23.329 And remember his radical open -mindedness, which 00:17:23.329 --> 00:17:25.970 proved time and time again that musical boundaries 00:17:25.970 --> 00:17:28.470 are ultimately meant to be broken. That's the 00:17:28.470 --> 00:17:30.930 real takeaway here. It's a deeply inspiring legacy. 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:33.319 and one we are so glad we could explore with 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:35.960 you today. Which leads us to our final thought 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:38.279 for you to ponder, long after this deep dive 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:41.799 ends. We've seen how Ellis merging his rigorous 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:45.180 jazz training with James Brown's raw R &B created 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:48.160 the entirely new genre of funk, and how he later 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.680 carried that toolkit into African, Cuban, and 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:53.240 Celtic music. So consider the massive instantaneous 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:56.380 access musicians have to global sounds today 00:17:56.380 --> 00:17:58.619 through the internet. Where anyone can collaborate 00:17:58.619 --> 00:18:01.019 with anyone across the world in real time. What 00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:03.180 entirely new musical genres are currently being 00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:05.700 forged in secret right now by session players 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:08.200 bridging completely unrelated cultures. Keep 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:11.019 your ears open. Thanks for joining us and we'll 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:12.059 catch you on the next deep dive.