Elliot began his recording career young while playing on songs by Motown legends Smokey Robinson and The Temptations. He was still a teenager when he toured with Melissa Manchester. That gig led to him spending five formative years playing in the mighty Tower of Power, who molded the impressionable musician into a passionate entertainer. He put out his first solo album in 1976 and in subsequent years, the Scotland-born, Los Angeles-raised saxophonist became a pioneering voice in contemporary jazz by consistently scoring hit after hit while building a growing legion of fans year after year through his explosive concerts.