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)
Last on
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
StrollinÂ’
![]()
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 201613:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Sun 9 Oct 201619:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Sun 9 Oct 201621:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
Music History Collection
People, events and music through history
Music from across the BBC
From rap to Rachmaninov - listen, watch and follow
