The New American Orchestra, later known as the American Jazz Philharmonic, was an orchestra founded by composer Jack Elliott (Irwin Elliott Zucker August 6, 1927 – August 18, 2001) - an American television and film composer, conductor, music arranger, television producer. Life and career Born in Hartford, CT and was of Romanian Jewish descent, Elliott graduated from the Hartt School of Music and worked as a jazz pianist in New York and Paris in the 1950s.