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Oliver Nelson

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Nelson was born on 4 June 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri. His family was musical: his brother was a saxophonist who played with Cootie Williams in the 1940s, and his sister sang and played piano. Nelson began learning to play the piano when he was six, and started on the saxophone at eleven. From 1947 he played in territory bands around Saint Louis, before joining the Louis Jordan big band from 1950 to 1951, playing alto sax and arranging. After military service in the marines, he returned to Missouri to study music composition and theory at Washington and Lincoln Universities, graduating in 1958.

After graduation, Nelson moved to New York, playing with Erskine Hawkins and Wild Bill Davis, and working as the house arranger for the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He also played on the West Coast briefly with the Louie Bellson band in 1959, and in the same year began recording as leader with small groups. From 1960 to 1961 he played tenor sax with Quincy Jones, both in the U.S. and on tour in Europe.

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jazz, saxophone, bebop, hard bop, swing
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The Blues and the Abstract Truth
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More Blues And The Abstract Truth
Oliver Nelson
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Blues & The Abstract Truth
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Skull Session
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Top Tracks

1	Stolen Moments full track	430
2	Yearnin' full track	208
3	Cascades full track	205
4	Butch and Butch full track	178
5	Teenie's Blues full track	172
6	Hoe-Down	85
7	Hoe Down full track	74
8	Stolen Moments (Telefon Tel Aviv remix)	58
9	Blues And The Abstract Truth full track	43
10	Elegy For A Duck full track	24
10	Goin' To Chicago Blues full track	24
12	Theme From Mr. Broadway full track	20
13	The Critic's Choice full track	19
13	March On, March On	19
15	One For Phil full track	14

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vale_lechuga wrote:
August 2009

todavia no puedo creer lo bueno q es, me sobrepasa.

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rogersthejimmy wrote:
August 2009

Screamin' the Blues is also a great a great album. This guy is truly a jazz great!

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dflawless wrote:
May 2009

Perfection.

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Greygoo wrote:
May 2009

are there any Oliver Nelson experts here who could tell me what else is essential besides "The Blues and The Abstract Truth"?

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hasso63 wrote:
February 2009

Oh my cascades just is........

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maexart_blog wrote:
February 2009

I bought this as a brand new vinyl release, which I still have, and became of Oliver Nelson's composing & arranging while he was still alive and working. Masterpiece. Period.

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RampantEntity wrote:
November 2008

Oh god, I am listening to The Blues and the Abstract Truth and my mind = blown. Please, someone direct me towards more of this man's work, as I cannot find it anywhere.

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scarlet1211 wrote:
September 2008

Sweetness..........

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praisingfolly wrote:
August 2008

The Blues and the Abstract Truth blew me away on first listen.

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joshkouri wrote:
August 2008

so good :]

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Big_Papa_Elliot wrote:
March 2008

The Blues And The Abstract Truth is quite possibly my favorite jazz album.

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bainer wrote:
December 2007

god i love oliver nelson.

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sergeeo wrote:
July 2006

Definately YES

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SpoonThe wrote:
July 2006

damnit everyone needs to get The Blues And The Abstract Truth!

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jstrz81, sploty, Captain_Cowboy and 3 other people added Oliver Nelson to their libraries. yesterday evening
dushanmfp tagged Oliver Nelson with ‘jazz’. Sunday afternoon
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SliPsix tagged Oliver Nelson with saxophone and jazz. last month
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