Whiplash – Don Ellis Band
Artist: Don Ellis Band (Written and arranged by Hank Levy)
Song: Whiplash
Genre: Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Rock, Rock, Avant-garde Jazz, Orchestral
A genius piece of art that explores and embraces new and complicated insights of rythm with astonishing ease, becoming a reference in the 70’s Jazz scene. Worth mentioning is, that this track was the inspiration for the Oscar awarded movie “Whiplash” which we highly recommend if you haven’t watched it yet.
The trumpet solo performed by “Wolverine” Don Ellis makes of this song a must in any jazz lover’s music library.
“Whiplash,” composed by Levy for the Don Ellis band, is a notoriously difficult piece. This is due largely in part from the time signature that prevails: 7/4. Don Ellis was a pioneer in championing music that had odd meters. In order to perform this piece effectively all members of the band must understand how each measure is sub-divided or broken down into smaller parts. Levy’s genius shines in his ability to save the more complex subdivisions for later sections of the work including the head-spinning ending. – Erik Morales, Alfredgerlines.wordpress.com
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