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Liberty Ellman: Tactiles
ByIt goes without saying, then, that Liberty Ellman - a member of Threadgill's Zooid - is a great guitarist. And even within Zooid he show some serious jazz chops. But his association with Threadgill wouldn't seem to suggest a relatively straight-ahead, if complex, approach to jazz. Ellman plays cleanly and voices chording much older than his 32 years. His band (tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, bassist Stephen Crump and drummer Eric Harland, with Greg Osby guesting on alto sax on three tracks) is sweet and mellow, playing low-key '60s-style guitar jazz, except that the themes are languid and long. Not unnecessarily so, Ellman writes cleverly woven heads. The pieces are rich and uncluttered, and the leader does a nice job comping against the horns.
If there's a complaint to be made, it's that the horns get in the way of the themes. They don't detract exactly, but Ellman's ideas - both in composing and playing - are so colorful that a guitar trio would give him the spotlight he deserves. Tactiles is a much more coherent statement than his first disc, Orthodoxy (Red Giant, 1997), and greater things are no doubt to come.
Track Listing
1. Excavation (Ellman) - 5:58 2. Clean Is Rich (Ellman) - 6:38 3. Temporary Aid (Ellman) - 8:08 4. Helios (Ellman) - 7:19 5. Rare Birds (Ellman) - 4:31 6. Body Art (Ellman) - 5:28 7. How Many Texts (Ellman) - 5:21 8. Ultraviolet (Ellman) - 5:09 9. Post Approval (Ellman) - 8:06
Personnel
Liberty Ellman
guitarGreg Osby - Alto Sax; Stephan Crump - Bass; Mark Shim - Tenor Sax; Liberty Ellman - Guitar; Eric Harland - Drums.
Album information
Title: Tactiles | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Pi Recordings