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Jazz Articles about Liberty Ellman
Liberty Ellman: Ophiuchus Butterfly
by Mark F. Turner
Being different just for the sake of being different is simply not enough. But then Liberty Ellman has never fit into the category of a run-of-the-mill jazz guitarist. Like a Bohemian artisan who dabbles in a variety of styles yet develops a unique identity, Ellman has performed impressively within mainstream, abstract jazz, and hip-hop settings--sometimes combining all three. On the heals of the highly acclaimed Tactiles (Pi Recordings, 2003) comes the creative and exhilarating Ophiuchus Butterfly, which ...
Continue ReadingLiberty Ellman: Tactiles
by Mark F. Turner
The fact or myth that jazz guitarists are underrated does not belie the reality that in the hands of a capable musician, the stringed instrument commands expression and presence. Liberty Ellman’s latest offering, Tactiles, obliterates the “normal" jazz guitar mindset with its eclectic and progressive tendencies. Having hung out on stage and in the studio with the likes of pianist Vijay Iyer and multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill, Ellman brings a natural, forward thinking progression in the creation of music. His debut ...
Continue ReadingLiberty Ellman: Tactiles
by Dan McClenaghan
Pi's roster boasts a several heavyweight avant-guarde jazz talents: Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith and his Golden Quartet, Anthony Braxton, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Henry Threadgill. But they also offer the young newcomers, including pianist Vijay Iyer and, with the release of Tactiles, guitarist Liberty Ellman. Tactiles is a quartet outing – guitar/sax/bass/drums – that falls, surprisingly, on the mainstream side of jazz, given Pi's veteran artists list and Ellman's relative youth, plus his stint in ...
Continue ReadingLiberty Ellman: Tactiles
by Kurt Gottschalk
There's something remarkable about musicians employed by Henry Threadgill. While they're virtually guaranteed to be exceptional players, their personal styles are almost entirely eclipsed by the challenge of his compositions. Going all the way back to the Fred Hopkins/Diedre Murray duo, what you get with Threadgill's bands is very different from what you get with the members alone. Thus a list of his bandmates is a roster of talented players with a variety of takes on the jazz idiom.
Continue ReadingLiberty Ellman: Orthodoxy
by David Adler
Talk about talent deserving wider recognition. Guitarist Liberty Ellman has been placed in the M-BASE camp by some, but it’s not quite so easy to pin him down. His highly enjoyable debut, Orthodoxy, is an ultra-hip mix of abstract swing and spacey but intense groove—call it Greg Osby meets In a Silent Way by way of The Sorceror. The slow, odd-metered funk and seductive melody of “Psi Missing" is a standout.Some of the tunes are rather long and ...
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