Jazz Articles about Ely Perlman

About Ely Perlman

Album Review

Christian McBride and Ursa Major: Points of Light

Read "Points of Light" reviewed by Andrew Schinder

by Andrew Schinder
October 7, 2026

Bass superstar Christian McBride seemingly has an infinite number of active projects at any given moment, but his group Ursa Major may be his most exciting. With Ursa Major, McBride leads a group of dynamic young musicians whose collective mission is to essentially fulfill McBride's creative impulses--an “all-in" band, as McBride has described it. Over the course of his distinguished career McBride has seemingly explored every jazz and jazz-adjacent genre and sub-genre out there, and he created Ursa Major to tie all ...

Album Review

Noah Preminger: Dark Days

by Jack Kenny
December 30, 2025

Noah Preminger possesses one of the most beautiful tones in jazz, and he knows it. He is not inclined to tarnish that sound--nor should he. It is the product of years of rigorous work. His challenge, rather, lies in his relative youth, in jazz terms. Admired already, Preminger also understands that his best years likely lie ahead. His well-regarded album Ballads (Chill Tone 2025) confirms his lyric gifts, yet it also raises the question: What next? Think of Coltrane--could one ...

Play This!

Ely Perlman: Open Heart

by Scott Lichtman
October 31, 2025

Ely Perlman is a rising guitar phenom. A standout in three genres--jazz, indie acoustic and electronic--he bridges the styles with fast, angular lines and techniques like fret tapping. Christian McBride has welcomed Perlman into the bassist's elite quintet, Ursa Major. Meanwhile, Perlman is releasing Everything Should Be (Self Produced, 2025), his first album as leader. Read his interview: Introducing Guitarist Ely Perlman. On the shimmering tune, “Open Heart," Perlman is joined by Shai Maestro on piano ...

Rising Stars

Introducing Guitarist Ely Perlman

by Sanford Josephson
September 1, 2025

After graduating from Israel's Thelma Yellin High School for the Performing Arts about four years ago, guitarist Ely Perlman came to the United States to attend Boston's Berklee College of Music. The summer before school started, he went to the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy, a music education program in Aspen, CO, directed by bassist Christian McBride. “It was June 2021," the 26-year-old Perlman recalled, “during the last period of Covid. Christian was just forming his band, Ursa Major. ...