Gil Mellé

Gilbert John Mellé (31 December 1931 – 28 October 2004) was an American jazz musician, film score composer, and artist.^[1][2]

Gil Mellé
Birth name	Gilbert John Mellé
Born	(1931-12-31)December 31, 1931 New York City, U.S.
Died	October 28, 2004(2004-10-28) (aged 72) Malibu, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, electronic, experimental, third stream
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, artist, sound engineer
Instrument(s)	Synthesizer; tenor, baritone, and soprano saxophones
Years active	1953-2004

Life and career

In the 1950s, Mellé created the cover art for albums by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Sonny Rollins.^[3] Mellé led a number of sessions recorded for the Blue Note and Prestige labels between 1952 and 1957.^[3] He also appeared at the first Newport Jazz Festival, leading a band that also contained Joe Cinderella, Vinnie Burke, and Ed Thigpen.^[3]

As a film and TV composer, Mellé was one of the first to use self-built electronic instruments, either alone or as an added voice among the string, wind, brass, and percussion sections of the orchestra.^[4] Mellé died in Malibu, California on October 28, 2004.^[3]

Discography

As composer and arranger

• Gil Mellé Quintet/Sextet (New Faces - New Sounds) (Blue Note, 1953)
• Gil Mellé Quintet with Urbie Green and Tal Farlow - Volume 2 (Blue Note, 1953)
• Gil Mellé Quartet featuring Lou Mecca - Volume 3 (Blue Note, 1954)
• Gil Mellé Quintet with Don Butterfield - 5 Impressions of Color (Blue Note, 1955)
• Patterns in Jazz (Blue Note, 1956)
• Primitive Modern (Prestige, 1956)
• Gil's Guests (Prestige, 1956)
• Quadrama (Prestige, 1957)
• Tome VI (Verve, 1967)
• Waterbirds (Nocturne, 1970)
• The Andromeda Strain (Kapp, 1971)
• Mindscape (Blue Note, 1989)^[5]
• The Organization (Intrada, 2010). World premiere release of the original soundtrack of the 1971 film. Produced by Douglass Fake. Liner notes by James Phillips. Art Direction by Joe Sikoyak.
• Borderline (Intrada, 2012). World premiere release of the original score to the 1980 film. Produced by Douglass Fake. Liner Notes by James Phillips. Art Direction by Joe Sikoyak.

Film scores

• The Andromeda Strain (1971)
• The Organization (1971)
• The Manipulator (1971)
• You'll Like My Mother (1972)
• Bone (1972)
• The Ultimate Warrior (1975)
• Embryo (1976)
• Starship Invasions (1977)
• The Sentinel (1977)
• Blood Beach (1980)
• Borderline (1980)
• The Last Chase (1981)
• Hot Target (1985)

Television scores

Television series

• Ironside (1968) - 1 episode
• Then Came Bronson (1969–70) - 2 episodes
• Night Gallery (1969–73) - Theme music
• The Psychiatrist (1970–71) - Theme music
• Columbo (1971–72) - 4 episodes
• Tenafly (1973) - 4 episodes
• Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–75) - Theme music
• World War III (1982) - Miniseries
• Fatal Vision (1984) - Miniseries
• Veronica Clare (1991) - 9 episodes

Television films

• Lieutenant Schuster's Wife (1972)
• That Certain Summer (1972)
• The Victim (1972)
• The Judge and Jake Wyler (1972)
• The Astronaut (1972)
• Future Shock (1972)
• A Cold Night's Death (1973)
• The Six Million Dollar Man (1973)
• Partners in Crime (1973)
• Savage (1973)
• The President's Plane Is Missing (1973)
• Trapped (1973)
• The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping (1973)
• Frankenstein: The True Story (1973)
• Legend in Granite (1973)
• The Questor Tapes (1974)
• Killdozer! (1974)
• Hitchhike (1974)
• The Last Angry Man (1974)
• The Savage Is Loose (1974)
• The Missing Are Deadly (1975)
• A Cry for Help (1975)
• The Imposter (1975)
• Crime Club (1975)
• Death Scream (1975)
• The Art of Crime (1975)
• Dynasty (1976)
• Perilous Voyage (1976)
• Gold of the Amazon Women (1979)
• A Vacation in Hell (1979)
• Attica (1980)
• The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (1980)
• Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case (1980)
• The Intruder Within (1981)
• Through Naked Eyes (1983)
• Jealousy (1984)
• Best Kept Secrets (1984)
• Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac (1984)
• Sweet Revenge (1984)
• Starcrossed (1985)
• When Dreams Come True (1985)
• Killer in the Mirror (1986)
• The Deliberate Stranger (1986)
• Circle of Violence: A Family Drama (1986)
• Stillwatch (1987)
• The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story (1988)
• From the Dead of Night (1989)
• The Case Of The Hillside Stranglers (1989)
• So Proudly We Hail (1990)
• Good Cops, Bad Cops (1990)
• Fire: Trapped on the 37th Floor (1991)
• Night Owl (1993)

Awards and nominations

• 1972 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score: The Andromeda Strain (nominated)

References

1. "Gil Melle: 1931-2004". www.jazzhouse.org. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
2. "Gil Melle | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
3. Kennedy, Gary W. (2003). "Melle [Mellé], Gil(bert John)". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J639200. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
4. "Gil Mellé: Instrumental Inventions - JazzTimes". JazzTimes. Retrieved 2018-02-09.^{[dead link]}
5. Gil Mellé - Mindscape at Discogs (list of releases) - Discogs

External links

• Gil Melle at IMDb
• Obituary - All About Jazz
• Gil Mellé discography at Discogs