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 Kennedy Dream
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The Blues and the Abstract Truth
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More Blues And The Abstract Truth
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Blues & The Abstract Truth
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Top Tracks

1	Stolen Moments full track	329
2	Yearnin' full track	161
3	Cascades full track	145
4	Teenie's Blues full track	130
5	Butch and Butch full track	128
6	Hoe-Down	69
7	Stolen Moments (Telefon Tel Aviv remix)	62
8	Hoe Down full track	60
9	Blues And The Abstract Truth full track	40
10	Goin' To Chicago Blues full track	25
11	The Critic's Choice full track	24
12	Midnight Blue full track	18
13	One For Phil full track	16
14	Theme From Mr. Broadway full track	14
14	Blues O'Mighty full track	14

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Hayzi22 wrote:
11 hours ago

Oliver Nelson is my favorite.

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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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