Jazz Articles about Dave Ellis

Erik Jekabson Sextet III: One Note At A Time

by Dan Bilawsky
March 13, 2020

By the time One Note At A Time's first two songs have finished, it's been made abundantly clear that trumpeter Erik Jekabson appreciates a groove as much as he values space. The opener—"Days of Haze"—provides an introductory shot of adrenaline in the form of a tight, funk-framed blues, and “Dusk," in contrast, looks to open vistas, with longer lines and a less-is-more attitude reflecting the liminal spirit in its name. Foreshadowing what's to come, those early offerings prove complementary through ...

Dave Ellis: Of Jams and Jazz

by Forrest Dylan Bryant
January 4, 2005

Tenor saxophonist Dave Ellis has been a stalwart of the Bay Area jazz scene for years. An East Bay native, he honed his craft in the famed Berkeley High School jazz program and, appropriately enough, the Berklee school of Music in Boston. After returning to the Bay Area, he spent time in the original version Charlie Hunter Trio as well as several other groups, and began recording a series of critically acclaimed albums. The most recent of these, 2003's State ...

Dave Ellis: Talented Tenor on the March

by R.J. DeLuke
October 16, 2003

Why Not?

So many jazz musicians have been heralded as the next “big thing” since the 80s it’s hard to keep track. It can cause one, after a while, to cast a sideways glance at the next pronouncement. But when a saxophonist creeps up on you with a lively, burnished tone and a swagger begat from the likes of Dexter... maybe it’s time not to ask why, but to say why not.

Dave Ellis isn’t a ...

Dave Ellis: State of Mind

by Franz A. Matzner
October 5, 2003

A severe gap exists between technical facility and profound expression. The jazz world has become flooded with technically adept performers, and whether they’ve come up from within the rigorous university system or the art institutes, they all display a studied command of their instruments, harmony, sight-reading, and composition. They’ve all been tested, certified, and approved; they’re all fully saturated with the historical development of their instruments. Unfortunately, the majority fails to translate this scholastic excellence into the kind of personally ...

Dave Ellis: Talented Tenor on the March

by R.J. DeLuke
April 25, 2003

Why Not? So many jazz musicians have been heralded as the next “big thing" since the 80s it's hard to keep track. It can cause one, after a while, to cast a sideways glance at the next pronouncement. But when a saxophonist creeps up on you with a lively, burnished tone and a swagger begat from the likes of Dexter' maybe it's time not to ask why, but to say why not.

Dave Ellis isn't a ...

The Other Ones: The Strange Remain

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 1999

For over 30 years, The Grateful Dead criss-crossed the country, the house band at party after party in countless cities for a roaming community best known as “Deadheads;" their common bond, to gather and celebrate. Skeptics often write off The Grateful Dead, dissing their fans, attacking the band's now mythical drug habits and citing their poor output of studio recordings, without ever really taking the time to consider the massive body of work they left behind. In this writer's opinion ...

Dave Ellis: In The Long Run

by Jim Santella
December 1, 1998

The biography at http://www.monarchrecords.com/bio-ellis.html refers to saxophonist Dave Ellis as a “30-year-old rising-star saxophonist" who offers a variety of styles and preferences. The Monarch web site also includes samples from each of the tracks on In The Long Run. His early experience and few recordings only show the surface of what Ellis can do. His two Monarch recordings have proven that Dave Ellis is a “talent deserving wider recognition."

“The Waterbearer," written by Mingus Amungus pianist Muziki Roberson, is one ...