Herb Ellis
Electric Guitar Solo on
Pennies From Heaven

About

Herb Ellis's electric guitar solo is the third of four solos on "Pennies from Heaven" from the 1955 Pres & Sweets session. Ellis takes one chorus over the 32-bar ABAC form in B-flat at a brisk 181 BPM, contributing a single chorus between Edison's two-chorus feature and Young's return for the finale. Ellis had replaced Barney Kessel in the Oscar Peterson Trio by this point, and his warm, Charlie Christian-influenced guitar style adds a distinctive color to the performance's solo sequence. The single-chorus format keeps his contribution focused and concise within the four-soloist arrangement.

Herb Ellis was 33 to 34 years old at the time.