Customer Reviews

One Foot in the Swamp

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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).

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.

I bought this based on the other reviews after being directed here by one of Amazon's bots. Damn those bots! How did they know this was just what I was looking for? Great stuff. I love the instumentation, the players, the vibe.
Don't even ask me to describe it.