One Foot in the Swamp

John Ellis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 22, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sin-Drome Records
• ASIN: B0007N19XW
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,713 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Next Generation of Jazz Icons, February 27, 2005

By 

RP (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Foot in the Swamp (Audio CD)

I first found out about John Ellis when I saw him playing with the great Charlie Hunter. John is the saxophonist in Hunter's trio. I was blown away by his playing and from that point on anxiously awaited his new solo album, One Foot In The Swamp. And it doesn't disappoint.

This is a classic modern jazz record. There's no doubt in my mind that there's a new generation of jazz players who are going to recapture the public's attention and put jazz back on the map again. John Ellis is at the forefront of that movement. He's progressive in his writing and arrangements, but there's also incredible soul in his playing. That combination is rare. This record grabs me more and more with each listen.

I recommend this to fans of Charlie Hunter, Jason Moran, Pat Metheny, Greg Osby, Dave Holland, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, John Scofield, etc.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one step towards the top, September 3, 2005

By 

mark weiss (Palo Alto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Foot in the Swamp (Audio CD)

John Ellis is part of a new generation of jazz acts; in New York he is part of the crowd that lives in Brooklyn, appears regularly at Jazz Gallery, and wears a knit ski cap on stage. (If in Nashville they have or had "the hat acts" now jazz in New York has "the ski cap jazz mafia".

John recorded this cd himself with his New Orleans guys (Marsallis, Guerin), his main man Adam Goldberg, and people he met on tour with Charlie Hunter Trio (his day-job) Gregoire Maret and John Scofield. Plus Nicholas Payton who, like Ellis, has one foot in both scenes.

A lot of these songs can be heard at the Charlie Hunter show and on Right Now Move (actually, Orrin Evans covers the video game riff based song as well...). Ellis is adept at tenor, soprano, bass clarinet, flute and ocarina.

Buy this thing used if you want: the cd cover alone (by John's brother David "SKWRM" Ellis) is worth the $5.

Mark Weiss
disclosure: for a brief period of time, maybe it was just that one night, at B.B. King's, I used to help schlep the tenor, the soprano, the bass clarinet and the flute (the ocarina stays on a string around John's neck 24-7-365).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JUST A BEAUTIFUL RECORD, April 10, 2005

By 

Matthew Bialer (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Foot in the Swamp (Audio CD)

I first read about John Ellis in the New York Times. I read a review of this record that emphasized the Southern Influence (at least that is what caught my eye in the review). There is no doubt that the South and blues are undercurrents in this jazz record. There is a lot going on in the music. Clearly, John Ellis is a very sophisticated and talented composer and musician. I think he is a breath of fresh air and I can't wait to see how he develops. He is an exciting new voice.