Ellis Larkins
b. 15 May 1923, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. A child prodigy, Larkins performed on the piano in public at the age of seven, playing Mozart. He attended the Paebody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, then the Juilliard School of Music where he was one of only a few black musicians at that time. To support himself while studying he played clubs in New York and was heard by John Hammond while with the Billy Moore Trio. Hammond booked the trio for the Cafe Society Uptown, with the proviso that Larkins was in the group. During the next two decades Larkins became a regular on the New York club and recording scene, but remained discreetly in the background as he developed into one of the finest accompanists to singers. Among those who have enjoyed his supportive playing are Mildred Bailey, Georgia Gibbs and Ella Fitzgerald. His recordings with Fitzgerald, reputedly unrehearsed, remain among the best the First Lady made. Larkins also played on record in numerous pick-up groups, but made only occasional albums as soloist or as leader of his own trio. In the '70s, during a period when he was accompanist to Rod McKuen, a series of records corrected this imbalance in Larkins's recorded output. He appeared on record again with Ruby Braff, with whom he had first recorded in the mid-'50s. One of the most musicianly pianists to grace jazz, Larkins has been content to remain in the shadows, unobtrusively using his enormous yet delicate gifts to the benefit of others.