Don Elliott Helfman (October 21, 1926 – June 5, 1984), known as Don Elliott, 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 ...

trumpeter,

vibraphonist The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vib ...

, vocalist, and

mellophone The mellophone is a brass instrument used in marching bands and drum and bugle corps in place of French horns. It is a middle-voiced instrument, typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historica ...

player. Elliott recorded over 60 albums and 5,000 advertising jingles throughout his career.

Career

Elliott played mellophone in his high school band and played trumpet for an army band. After studying at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

he added vibraphone to his instruments. He recorded with

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

and

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

before forming his own band. From 1953 to 1960, he won the ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' Readers' Poll several times for "miscellaneous instrument-mellophone."Down Beat Readers Polls
Known as the "Human Instrument", Elliott performed jazz as a vocalist, trombonist,

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

ist, and percussionist. He pioneered the art of

multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...

, composed prize-winning advertising jingles, prepared film scores, and built a thriving

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

. He scored several

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

productions, including

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...

's ''The Beast in Me'' and '' A Thurber Carnival'', as well as Frank D. Gilroy's '' The Only Game in Town''. He also provided one of the voices for the novelty jazz duo the

Nutty Squirrels ''Nutty'' was a British comic magazine that ran for 292 issues from 16 February 1980 to 14 September 1985, when it merged with '' The Dandy''. Published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, ''Nutty'' was an attempt to create a more lively and chaotic co ...

. Elliott was a longtime associate of

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

, contributing vocals to Jones's scores for the films '' The Pawnbroker'' (1962), '' Walk, Don't Run'' (1966), '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967), '' $'' (1971), '' The Hot Rock'' (1972) and '' The Getaway'' (1972). Elliot also composed the score to ''

The Happy Hooker ''The Happy Hooker: My Own Story'' is a best-selling memoir by Xaviera Hollander, a call girl, published in 1971. It sold over 20 million copies. Robin Moore, who took Hollander's dictations of the book's contents, came up with the title, while Y ...

'' starring

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was a British and American actress. During a career that spanned five decades, she won two Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, two Em ...

. Elliott owned and operated one of the first multitrack

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

s in New York City and in Weston, Connecticut, where he died of cancer in 1984. He was married to actress Doris Wiss (1929-2015).

Discography

As leader or co-leader

* ''Doubles in Brass'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

, 1954) * ''The Don Elliott Quintet'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

, 1954) * ''Mellophone'' (

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, 1955) * ''Don Elliott Sings'' (Bethlehem, 1955) * '' Counterpoint for Six Valves'' ( Riverside, 1955) – with Rusty Dedrick (also released as ''Double Trumpet Doings'') * ''Vibrations'' (

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

, 1956) – with

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin music (genre), Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group mod ...

* '' The Voice of Marty Bell - The Quartet of Don Elliott'' (Riverside, 1956) * '' The Bob Corwin Quartet featuring the Trumpet of Don Elliott'' (Riverside, 1956) * ''A Musical Offering'' (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, 1956) * ''Don Elliott at the Modern Jazz Room'' (ABC, 1956) *'' Eddie Costa, Mat Mathews & Don Elliott at Newport'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...

, 1957) * ''The Voices of Don Elliott'' (ABC, 1957) * ''Music for the Sensational Sixties'' (Design, 1957) * ''Jamaica Jazz'' (

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...

, 1958) * ''The Mello Sound'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

, 1958) *'' The Nutty Squirrels'' (Hanover, 1959) with Alexander "Sascha" Burland * ''Mr. Versatile'' * ''Love is a Necessary Evil'' ( Columbia, 1962) * ''Rejuvenation'' (Columbia, 1975)

As sideman

* 1954 '' Skin Deep'',

Louie Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer ...

* 1954 ''Joe Puma Quintet'',

Joe Puma Joe Puma (August 13, 1927 – May 31, 2000) was an American jazz guitarist. Puma was born in the Bronx, New York. His first professional experience came with Joe Roland in 1949–50. He played in the band led by Cy Coleman. He acted as a session ...

* 1955 ''Songs by Sylvia Syms'',

Sylvia Syms Sylvia May Laura Syms (6 January 1934 – 27 January 2023) was an English stage and screen actress. Her best-known film roles include '' My Teenage Daughter'' (1956), '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA ...

* 1956 ''The Swingin' Miss "D"'',

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

* 1956 ''Sylvia Syms Sings'', Sylvia Syms * 1956 '' Desmond: Here I AM'',

Paul Desmond Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer and proponent of cool jazz. He was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and composed the group's biggest hit, " ...

* 1956 ''Featuring Don Elliott'', Paul Desmond * 1956 ''Special Delivery'', Janet Brace * 1956 ''Braff!'',

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Bra ...

* 1957 ''Swingin' with Terry Gibbs Orchestra & Quartet'',

* 1957 ''My Fair Lady Loves Jazz''

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

* 1957 ''Hi-Fi Suite'',

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

* 1958 ''Sing Me a Swing Song'',

Bobby Short Robert Waltrip Short (September 15, 1924 – March 21, 2005) was an American cabaret singer and pianist who interpreted songs by popular composers from the first half of the 20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold ...

* 1958 ''Connee Boswell Sings Irving Berlin'',

Connee Boswell Constance Foore "Connee" Boswell (December 3, 1907 – October 11, 1976) was an American vocalist born in Kansas City, Missouri, but raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. With sisters Martha and Helvetia "Vet", she performed in the 1920s and 1930s ...

* 1958 ''Legrand Jazz'',

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to ma ...

* 1959 ''Amor!: The Fabulous Guitar of Luiz Bonfa'',

Luiz Bonfá Luiz Floriano Bonfá (17 October 1922 – 12 January 2001) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer. He was best known for the music he composed for the film '' Black Orpheus''. Biography Luiz Floriano Bonfá was born on October 17, 1922, in Ri ...

* 1959 '' Porgy & Bess'',

Mundell Lowe James Mundell Lowe (April 21, 1922 – December 2, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician. He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the '' Billy Jack'' soundtra ...

* 1959 ''The Ivory Hunters'',

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombone, valve trombonist, Jazz piano, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public ...

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

* 1961 ''Like Tweet'',

* 1963 ''The Boss of the Blues'', Charles Brown * 1964 ''The Many Faces of Art Farmer'',

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

* 1964 '' Golden Boy'',

* 1965 ''Ballads My Way'', Charles Brown * 1967 '' In the Heat of the Night OST'', Quincy Jones * 1972 '' The Hot Rock OST'', Quincy Jones * 1973 '' There Goes Rhymin' Simon'',

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

* 1976 ''I Heard That!'',

* 1977 ''One of a Kind'',

Dave Grusin Robert David Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, incl ...

* 1996 ''Verve Jazz Masters 57'',

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing (13 August 191914 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 so ...

* 2001 '' Tenderly: An Informal Session'',

– recorded 1956 & 1957

References

External Links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Don 1926 births 1984 deaths Musicians from Somerville, New Jersey People from Weston, Connecticut Singers from New Jersey American jazz singers American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters American jazz vibraphonists Cool jazz singers Cool jazz trumpeters Deaths from cancer in Connecticut 20th-century American singers 20th-century American trumpeters Jazz musicians from Connecticut 20th-century American male singers American male jazz musicians