Pee Wee Ellis

With his warm, throaty sound, saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis was the architect of James Brown's era-defining soul classics of the late '60s, introducing the dynamic arrangements and punishing rhythms that would define the emerging language of funk. As a core member of the J.B. Horns, Ellis played with the James Brown band throughout the latter half of the 1960s, co-writing and arranging such funk classics as "Licking Stick," "Cold Sweat," and "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud." He also began a decades-long association with Van Morrison in 1979, and recorded with other soul-jazz...