In the last few years, tenor saxophonist Dave Ellis has established himself as one of the most vibrant young voices of the new generation of jazz players. He not only delivered an auspicious debut CD Raven on Monarch Records, but he has also wowed fans on the road in his own bands as well in other nationally prominent touring groups, including the Charlie Hunter Trio (he was a charter member) and two Grateful Dead spinoffs, Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman's Ratdog and the Dead reincarnation band The Other Ones, with former members Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart. Ellis' stock rises even higher with his superb sophomore Monarch outing, In the Long Run, produced by the legendary Orrin Keepnews who helmed classic recordings by such jazz titans as Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans and Wes Montgomery.
On his new CD, the 30-year-old rising-star saxophonist blows with a robust tenacity, romances with smooth lyricism, slams into a funky groove and swings with the gusto of the jazz elders who paved the way for future jazz generations. While his invigorating music is steeped in the jazz tradition, Ellis is also well-versed in a variety of pop music styles including funk, rock, r&b and soul. "Where I'm at is playing jazz with a twist," says Ellis. "It's an ongoing quest for me to stretch the role of the saxophone in music, whether it's in a jazz setting or playing onstage with Ratdog and The Other Ones. Just like [pianist] Bruce Hornsby, who was in The Other Ones too, I'm able to live in both worlds, jazz and pop." That's not surprising given the fact that Ellis grew up in a household where all kinds of music -- from opera to the Beatles -- was played. Ellis also attributes his love for stylistic variety to his being raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ellis vividly remembers his home town of Berkeley as a stimulating cultural crossroad where the popular music of the day meshed with the jazz of the masters. He spent hours listening to funk and rock on the radio, but he also starred as a jazz saxophonist in Berkeley's pioneering public school music program. As a result, Ellis paints his own wide-ranging music with a colorful palette. On In the Long Run, Ellis, who makes his soprano sax debut on the CD, plays to his strength: combining musical styles while keeping the essence of jazz foremost. He plays it smooth, cooks it hot, muses with sweet soul and jams out with fevered intensity. For the CD, Ellis enlisted two different bands: his own impressive quartet, featuring pianist Jeff Chimenti, drummer Deszon Claiborne and bassist Peter Barshay, and a trio of heavyweights, featuring pianist Eric Reed, drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath and Tonight Show bassist Robert Hurst.
Also guesting are trombonist Marty Wehner and flugelhorn ace and fellow Monarch recording artist Dmitri Matheny. "I recorded on Dmitri's album Penumbra: The Moon Sessions which Orrin produced," says Ellis. "After the sessions, Orrin told me he wanted to work with me on my next album. I consider myself lucky and fortunate that he was interested in me. He put a lot of energy into this disc." The two discussed the project and formulated a plan to use two different groups. Ellis wanted to showcase his SF-based band and Keepnews wanted to get Ellis to stretch with some vets. "Orrin really put his reputation on the line. It challenged me working with the New York guys. It's like, let's see if Ellis can hang. But in the end it's just different levels of swing." In addition to two tunes written by Reed ("Evil Deals," the title being an anagram of the leader's name, and "Tootie Rootie," written for the drummer), Ellis and company cover several standards, including "Just Squeeze Me" from the Duke Ellington songbook, Monk's bluesy "Monk's Dream" (arranged by Barshay) and Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus." Henderson originally wrote the tune for an album he recorded for Keepnews in 1969.
Keepnews and Ellis separately came up with the idea to record it on this album. There's also a fine rendition of Peter Apfelbaum's composition "Pillars." Ellis and Chimenti, who also plays piano in Ratdog as well as leads his own band, co- wrote the title track and "Meltdown." Two remarkable originals demonstrate the range of Ellis' playing. There's the emotive "Water Bearer," written by Mingus Amungus pianist Muziki Roberson. Ellis plays the soprano sax with soulful beauty. Then there's "Ced'n'Dunn," the only tune on the CD that Ellis penned by himself. It's a hip, spice-of- funk, groove number with the slap-happy drums high in the mix. "This is my tune about the life crisis I went through when I turned 30," Ellis explains. "I told myself, OK, let's get it together. It's a song about doing it. It's silly and tongue-in-cheek. It's like, nah nah nah nah nah, here I come." As for his Grateful Dead-related activities, Ellis smiles and admits that he's still in a state of wonderment as to why he was pegged to take the sax seat on the Other Ones' tour. "It's funny, we'd be on the road and I'd say to myself, 'Why me, why am I playing on stage with these guys when I'm a jazz saxophonist?'" Ellis laughs, then answers his own question: "These guys are Bay Area home boys just like me. They're from here, some even grew up here just like me. But I have to admit that I didn't know who Bob Weir was until I started playing with Ratdog. But that gave me an edge. I didn't idolize him or the other Dead guys.
That gave me a fresh perspective on their music. As a result, our relationships were built on a person-to-person basis." According to Bob Weir, "Listening to Dave Ellis has taken me to a whole lot of new places. Playing with Dave has taken me to a whole new world." Ellis hastens to note that he's hardly the first saxophonist to gig in the band. During the Dead days, such jazz noteworthies as Ornette Coleman, David Murray, Pharoah Sanders and Branford Marsalis all sat in with Jerry Garcia and his cohorts. Ellis reports that he's been getting a healthy dose of encouragement from all parties involved. "I've been well-received by the fans. Even [onetime basketball star, now NBA commentator] Bill Walton, who's a big Dead fan, told me he really digs it."
Ellis says that the biggest challenge for him in playing with the rockers has been to maintain his integrity as a saxophone player. "It would be real easy to play to these large crowds and shake my butt and circular breathe my way through solos. I know that would get the crowd going. But I'm keeping my jazz focus by improvising, making up music on the fly in front of 30,000 people. Besides, that's what the Dead was all about: jamming, making it up as they went along. That's where the Dead and jazz, both American musical institutions, find common ground." In fact, don't be surprised if future Ellis recordings have even deeper Dead links. "Who knows, I might just go ahead and translate some of their music into jazz for my group to play.
That's my strength as a player: having a jazz background and an open mind musically." He laughs and then describes a picture he has that was taken at his bachelor party last year. "It's one of the funniest things you'll ever see. There's my piano player Jeff Chimenti flanked by Orrin Keepnews and Bob Weir - both legends in their respective fields - and all of them learning how to belly dance. Who would have ever guessed that these guys would be in the same place together?" It's not a breeze playing in both the jazz and pop music worlds without compromising your musical intregity, but Dave Ellis, jazz saxophone star of the '00s, makes it sound easy.
