Oliver Nelson
Albums
An essential followup to a 1961 classic. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
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When the late President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, the world lost not only a prominent politician, but one [more]
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This CD reissue brings back a very interesting quintet set matching together Oliver Nelson (on alto and tenor) and Eric Dolphy (tripling on alto, flute, and bass [more]
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Appearances
![Domination [Bonus Tracks]](/cache/JHS/g9/130x130_on-sale_g96849p4mxj.png)
One of the lesser sessions from Cannonball Adderley's days with Capitol, Domination features arrangements by Oliver Nelson and William Fischer. Recorded in April of [more]
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![Joyride [Bonus Tracks]](/cache/JHS/h1/130x130_on-sale_h19372jl30e.png)
Stanley Turrentine is the featured artist in this big band session with an all-star orchestra arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. While Nelson's charts are funky and [more]
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Blue Note Plays the Beatles contains 11 previously released performances by jazz artists dipping into the Lennon/McCartney songbook. When deciding to cover such [more]
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This two CD collection was originally released as part of Blue Note's 60th Anniversary boxed set. Jimmy Smith, who was signed by Alfred Lion after he [more]
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This recording features singer Joe Williams backed by a studio orchestra headed and arranged by Jimmy Jones. Williams mostly sticks to blues-oriented material but there is a [more]
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Blue Bacharach: A Cooler Shaker features Blue Note interpreting Bacharach standards like "Always Something There to Remind Me," "I Say a Little Prayer," and
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This sampler has music from four of tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri's releases for RCA and Flying Dutchman. Included are three of the five numbers originally on Fenix, two [more]
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Although Rhino's four-disc box set, Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones, was released to coincide with Quincy Jones' autobiography, and that's what gives [more]
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Creed Taylor matched two of his most famous artists, Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, on this session (Montgomery's last for Verve), and the results are [more]
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Of all of organist Jimmy Smith's big-band albums recorded for Verve, this is one of the most imaginative ones. Oliver Nelson arranged a variety of themes from Prokofiev's Peter & [more]
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Biography
- Born Jun 4th 1932 in St. Louis, MO
- Died Oct 27th 1975 in Los Angeles, CA
- Styles
- Soul Jazz
- Instrument(s)
Oliver Nelson was a distinctive soloist on alto, tenor, and even soprano, but his writing eventually overshadowed his playing skills. He became a professional early on in 1947, playing with the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra and with St. Louis big bands headed by George Hudson and Nat Towles. In 1951, he arranged and played second alto for Louis Jordan's big band, and followed with a period in the Navy and four years at a university. After moving to New York, Nelson worked briefly with Erskine Hawkins, Wild Bill Davis, and Louie Bellson (the latter on the West Coast). In addition to playing with Quincy Jones' orchestra (1960-1961), between 1959-1961 Nelson recorded six small-group albums and a big band date; those gave him a lot of recognition and respect in the jazz world. Blues and the Abstract Truth (from 1961) is considered a classic and helped to popularize a song that Nelson had included on a slightly earlier Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis session, "Stolen Moments." He also fearlessly matched wits effectively with the explosive Eric Dolphy on a pair of quintet sessions. But good as his playing was, Nelson was in greater demand as an arranger, writing for big band dates of Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, and Billy Taylor, among others. By 1967, when he moved to Los Angeles, Nelson was working hard in the studios, writing for television and movies. He occasionally appeared with a big band, wrote a few ambitious works, and recorded jazz on an infrequent basis, but Oliver Nelson was largely lost to jazz a few years before his unexpected death at age 43 from a heart attack. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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