to the film's sequel, French Connection II in 1975. Ellis's final album for Columbia, Connection, was recorded in August 1972. The album featured "The Theme from 'The French Connection'", an abbreviated version of Ellis's movie score, and "Chain Reaction", a 13/8 tour de force by longtime contributor Hank Levy. Alongside these highlights are arrangements of several pop songs by artists such as Carole King, Yes, Andrew Lloyd Webber and The Carpenters. The arrangements were generally tongue-in-cheek; often Ellis arranged them in different meters than the original, or arranged for the melody to be played in a humorous way. There is no singer on this album. Regardless of what inspired Ellis's liberal interpretations of the popular material, Connection was the Orchestra's last album for Columbia. MPS Records In 1973, the Orchestra recorded Soaring, a collection of originals. Milcho Leviev contributed "Sladka Pitka", based on a Bulgarian folk song. A Hank Levy tune off the album, "Whiplash", was later featured in a film of the same name. The record was released by MPS Records, which would also release Ellis's next album, Haiku. The record, featuring Milcho Leviev, bassist Ray Brown, drummer John Guerin, and a large string orchestra, is made up of ten songs, each based on a Japanese haiku poem. The album is relaxed and introspective. Haiku was presumably recorded in late 1973 and released in 1974. Mid-1970s: The Organic Band and heart problems In 1974, Ellis became interested in the music of Brazil, even studying Portuguese so as to better communicate with indigenous musicians. He led a live band around this time called the Organic Band, which was a stripped-down version of the Orchestra that had no electronic instrumentation or modification (save for amplification). The band also featured a vocal quartet. These pursuits were postponed when Ellis started having health problems, feeling "out of breath after [walking] up a single flight of stairs". He checked himself into a hospital in New York City where a doctor diagnosed him with mitral stenosis, a condition which caused his heart to beat in odd rhythms. He was prescribed medication and went home to Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, he started feeling strange again, and went to a local hospital where he was re-diagnosed with an atrial septal defect. More tests were run and finally a third diagnosis was made: cardiomyopathy. Ellis was prescribed more drugs, but his condition worsened and he went into ventricular