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Cerys Matthews with Alfred 'Pee Wee' Ellis

Saxophonist, arranger, and a man who has worked artists from James Brown to Van Morrison.

Cerys Matthews' guest is Alfred 'Pee Wee' Ellis - saxophonist, arranger, and a man who has worked with some of the most notorious names in popular music - from James Brown to Van Morrison to Ginger Baker.

It has been said of Pee Wee, that he was born to play music. He began performing publicly at age 11, and is still gigging prolifically today, aged 75. Along the way he helped give birth to the funk genre, as band leader and co-writer with the James Brown Revue, and worked with Van Morrison for more than four decades. Having been taught his instrument by the great Sonny Rollins, Ellis is passionate about his work as an educator - passing funk on to the young people that he works with.

Pee Wee is a man still very much in love with playing music, and he joins Cerys to explore his eventful musical journey.

(Photo: Pee Wee Ellis. Credit: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)

50 minutes

Last on

Sun 9 Oct 2016 21:06GMT

Music Played

  • Pee Wee Ellis

    I Heard It Through The Grapevine

  • Pee Wee Ellis

    How Great Thou Art

  • Sonny Rollins

    St Thomas

  • The Horace Silver Quintet

    ³§³Ù°ù´Ç±ô±ô¾±²ÔÂ’

  • Dinah Washington

    Mad About The Boy

  • James Brown

    Cold Sweat

  • James Brown

    Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)

  • Van Morrison

    Summertime in England

  • Ginger Baker

    Twelve and More Blues

Broadcasts

  • Sat 8 Oct 2016 13:06GMT
  • Sun 9 Oct 2016 19:06GMT
  • Sun 9 Oct 2016 21:06GMT

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