Don Elliott

Don Elliott Helfman, born October 21, 1926, in Somerville, New Jersey, was an American jazz musician, composer, and recording figure who worked across an exceptionally broad range of musical disciplines. He died on June 5, 1984, in Weston, Connecticut, of cancer.

Elliott's instrumental range set him apart from his contemporaries. He began playing mellophone in his high school band and performed trumpet with an army band before enrolling at the University of Miami, where he took up vibraphone. Over the course of his career he also performed as a trombonist, flugelhornist, and percussionist, earning the nickname "the Human Instrument." From 1953 to 1960, he won the DownBeat Readers' Poll multiple times in the miscellaneous instrument category for his mellophone playing. Early recording work included sessions with Terry Gibbs and Buddy Rich, after which he formed his own band. He went on to record more than 60 albums as a leader or sideman, with his discography spanning labels including Vanguard, Bethlehem, Riverside, Savoy, ABC, Decca, and Columbia.

Elliott was a longtime collaborator of Quincy Jones, contributing vocals to Jones's film scores for The Pawnbroker (1962), Walk, Don't Run (1966), In the Heat of the Night (1967), $ (1971), The Hot Rock (1972), and The Getaway (1972). He also composed the score for the short film Que Puerto Rico (1963), directed by Tibor Hirsch, and scored The Happy Hooker, starring Lynn Redgrave. In addition to film work, he composed more than 5,000 advertising jingles throughout his career.

On Broadway, Elliott composed scores for several productions, among them James Thurber's The Beast in Me, A Thurber Carnival, and Frank D. Gilroy's The Only Game in Town. He was also one of the voices behind the novelty jazz duo the Nutty Squirrels, alongside Alexander "Sascha" Burland, who released a self-titled album on the Hanover label in 1959.

A pioneer in studio technology, Elliott owned and operated one of the first multitrack recording studios in New York City, as well as a facility in Weston, Connecticut, where he also built a production company. He was married to actress Doris Wiss (1929–2015).