ABOUT ELLIS LARKINS
Jazz artist who was an unselfish, understated accompanist. He was praised for his lyricism and romantic soul.
He became the first African-American to be accepted into the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
He performed and recorded with many prominent artists of the 1940s, including Billy Moore, Edmond Hall, Coleman Hawkins , Mildred Bailey , and Dicky Wells.
His parents were both classically trained musicians. His father was a violinist who established a two-hours-per-day practicing regimen for his son.
He recorded two memorable collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald : 1950's Ella Sings Gershwin and Songs in a Mellow Mood from 1954.
