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Jazz Articles about John Ellis
Dr. Lonnie Smith: Breathe
by Angelo Leonardi
Nel nuovo album di Dr.Lonnie Smith, appena uscito per la Blue Note, non c'è solo il traboccante groove del suo trio. Per il 75mo compleanno dell'organista Hammond, il produttore Don Was ha fatto le cose in grande, pubblicando la registrazione di una una serata allo Jazz Standard (a New York nel 2017) con un organico strumentale con nomi illustri, come il trombonista Robin Eubanks e la cantante Alicia Olatuja. Piuttosto insolita, ma riuscitissima, risulta poi la collaborazione ripresa in studio ...
Continue ReadingAnne Mette Iversen Quartet + 1: Racing a Butterfly
by Friedrich Kunzmann
A working collective since 2002, Anne Mette Iversen's quartet—saxophonist John Ellis, pianist Danny Grissett, drummer Otis Brown III and Iversen herself on bass—has developed a unique musical language, which transcends typical stigmas of the genre and demonstrates a special sense of light-footedness in navigating through the different bars and meters, all the while evading the self-indulgent. Augmented to a quintet with the addition of trombonist Peter Dahlgren, Racing A Butterfly sees Iverson building on concepts introduced on past outings Milo ...
Continue ReadingAnne Mette Iversen: Racing a Butterfly
by Mike Jurkovic
Many can surely recall the sunny, childlike fervor and bounce chasing a butterfly. Whether it was the park behind the projects or a rolling, rural vista, a feeling of wonder and wander settled into our core memory, only to be summoned in up from the subconscious to displace the current. Even if but for a moment. Even if but for the forty-eight or so minutes of Racing a Butterfly's capering wit. No one is afraid to follow a ...
Continue ReadingThe COVID Chronicles, Vol. 1
by Leo Sidran
How is Coronavirus impacting the creative class? What happens when musicians lose their primary income overnight? What opportunities are there for creativity in this moment of social distancing? What is the conversation for performing musicians, online creators, and artists? How is it different in countries with a social safety net? Victoria Canal, Jack Conte, Joe Dart, Joy Dragland, John Ellis, Ari Herstand, Ryan Keberle, Andrew Leib, Adam Levy, Lage Lund, and Gegè Telesforo all weigh in. Original Music ...
Continue ReadingPeter Slavov: Little Stories
by Dan Bilawsky
While these ten tracks recorded by bassist Peter Slavov's variable-sized outfit were all fleshed out in the studio between 2017 and 2019, this debut album actually covers a wider span of time. Collecting music penned over the past 20 years, and attaching attendant stories for background and bridging purposes, Slavov essentially looks back over his entire professional career and beyond. Fantasy, family, literature and life as we know it all play a part in the telling of these ...
Continue ReadingJohn Ellis: Evolution - Seeds and Streams
by Phil Barnes
There's a temptation to assume with evolution that all of history has been leading to this point, that today's dominant species or situation will continue as such forever. Nonsense of course, think of the changes in the lifetimes of current generations and it's clear that evolution is not a defined end point but a dynamic, continuing process. If nothing else our planet has finite resources, so continuing on a fixed path is unlikely to work forever. Musically the risks are ...
Continue ReadingJohn Ellis: Charm
by Doug Collette
Through the course of more than a half dozen albums under his own name, increasingly less traditional with each successive release including Dance Like there's No Tomorrow (Hyena, 2008) Puppet Mischief (Oblique Sound, 2010), saxophonist/composer John Ellis has developed and refined his own sound, particularly through his continued work with his band Double Wide. Charm further distinguishes the unit and it isn't just the unusual instrumental alignment of five-piece ensemble, operating without a bassist that sets these musicians apart: their ...
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