Jazz trumpeter and composer Don Ellis was famous for his wildly imaginative, technically accomplished, modern big band arrangements and later for his score for the iconic 1971 William Friedkin / Gene Hackman film, The French Connection.
· After falling in love with the classics, Electric Bath and Shock Treatment, Al Kooper produced Ellis' Autumn for Columbia in 1969.
· With the band in scintillating form, the album showcases two major Ellis compositions; the six-part magnum opus Variations for Trumpet and an updated version of Indian Lady (recorded at the Frost Amphitheater at Stanford University) that features two stunning instrumental duels / duets between the tenors, John Klemmer and Sam Falzone and the percussionists Ralph Humphrey and Gene Strimling.
· Al Kooper: "This is Autumn for Don Ellis and his orchestra. It shows a maturing and cohesiveness far beyond its time. It is not a cold, steely album. It is quite human; sometimes sad, sometimes joyous, occasionally humorous and variously frightening. It is, I believe, the sound of our time..."