Tears of Joy is a live double album by trumpeter/bandleader Don Ellis recorded in 1971 and released on the Columbia label.

The trumpeter/leader had backed off—a bit—from some of his outlandish and beautifully excessive use of strange and unconventional time signatures, though there is no lack of pioneering experimentalism in tone, color, arrangement, or style.

...Ultimately, Tears of Joy stands as a singular achievement in a career full of them by a musical auteur whose creativity seemingly knew few if any bounds".

[3] On All About Jazz, Jim Santella observed "Tears of Joy marked a subtle change in the Don Ellis big band.

Ellis and his other soloists stretch out with virtuosity while complex rhythms and dense counterpoint fill the air, and the band's sections taunt each other with adventurous forays.