Pee Wee Ellis, the saxophonist who created James Brown’s iconic soul songs of the late 1960s, introduced the punishing rhythms and dynamic arrangements that would become the new language of funk. Born Alfred Ellis in Bradenton on April 21, 1941. He was raised in Lubbock (TX) and was already playing professionally by the age of 12. His family moved to Rochester, NY in 1955. He began working with fellow classmates, and fledgling jazzmen, Ron Carter and Chuck Mangione. Ellis spent the summer 1957 under the tutelage Sonny Rollins. After graduating high school, he returned home to Florida to start his own R.
