The Man Behind “Blues & the Abstract Truth”

Our upcoming concert, “Blues, Gospel, and the Abstract Truth” will feature the music of saxophonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader, Oliver Nelson.

Oliver Nelson (1932–1975)

Oliver Nelson was born in 1932 to a musical family, in St. Louis, Missouri. He began studying the piano as a child, and then moved on to the saxophone. He demonstrated great skill on the saxophone, beginning with his membership in Louis Jordan’s big band, and duets with Eric Dolphy, Cannonball Adderly, Louie Belleson, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington; however, it is his writing that we remember best, from a life cut short by a heart attack.

After playing in Jordan’s band, and serving in the military for two years, Nelson attended an orchestra concert that inspired him to set aside his professional playing career to focus on learning music academically. He then received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music theory and composition, from Washington University in St. Louis and Lincoln University, where he studied classical training with composer Elliott Carter and others.

Following this period, he joined the Quincy Jones Orchestra and began to write for his own small and large ensembles, and the six albums he delivered between 1959-1961 established him as a leading voice in jazz. From this era comes his landmark album Blues and the Abstract Truth, which contained the minor blues standard “Stolen Moments.” 

After that, Nelson began to write some great charts for other artists, including Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Sonny Rollins, Buddy Rich, RIngo Starr, The Temptations, and many others. He then moved to L.A. where he wrote for television and films. Some of his credits include: “Ironside,” “Night Gallery,” “Columbo,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” and “Death of a Gunfighter.”

We’ll leave you with one more piece you may hear at our upcoming show. Here is “The Critic’s Choice.”