Pieces of Eight: Live at UCLA

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

Rob Theakston of Allmusic said "The highlights are no doubt Ellis' fascination with difficult rhythmic combinations and manic fluctuations of odd time signatures and his band, surprisingly, performs most of the material with great fluidity. There's also a surprising amount of microtonality from the players as well. Fans of Ellis' work will no doubt revel in these compositions and what is essentially a "new" recording from a truly groundbreaking composer".[2] On All About Jazz, Jim Santella observed "While unusual meters dot the session, Ellis gives a well rounded performance that combines creative soloing and pure musical timbres with superior writing. His sidemen were always inspired. Pieces Of Eight comes highly recommended for its unique character and for its dedication to the timeless principles of great music"[3]

All compositions by Don Ellis except as indicated

Disc One:

1. "Slippin' 'N' Slidin'" - 6:57
2. "Sadness Shouldn't Go so Deep" - 3:54
3. "Bali Dancer" - 5:31
4. "With Respect to Coltrane" (Tom Scott) - 5:05
5. "Pete's 7" - 6:29
6. "Let's Go to Sleep" - 7:16
7. "Blues for Hari" (Scott) - 9:08

Disc Two:

1. "Milestones" (Miles Davis) - 9:56
2. "It's a Snap" - 2:18
3. "I Love Us" - 5:47
4. "The Squeeze" - 5:22
5. "Lush Life" (Billy Strayhorn) - 7:29
6. "Turk's Works" (Arif Mardin) - 18:25

• Don Ellis - trumpet, arranger
• Tom Scott – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet, arranger
• Dave Wells – trombone
• Dave Mackay – piano
• Ray Neopolitan – bass
• Steve Bohannon – drums
• Alan Estes - timbales, percussion
• Chino Valdes - congas, bongos