Photo credit: Michael Weintrob |
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The release of Puppet Mischief marks saxophonist John Ellis's debut with the ObliqSound label, and follows up one of the busiest years in his career. In that time, he did everything from accompanying a diverse array of musicians ranging from Sting to Mos Def to the Cuban drummer Ignacio Berroa, touring Europe with the John Patitucci Trio and other artists and, most significantly, debuted The Ice Siren, Ellis' hour-long through-composed narrative composition for string quartet, tuba, percussion, guitar, vibes, winds and two singers. The piece, a collaborative effort with playwright Andy Bragen, debuted at the Jazz Gallery in New York in May 2009.
Ellis, now 35, has never been an artist who stays in one artistic place very long. Born in North Carolina, he took piano lessons as a child, soon switched to clarinet, and first became seriously drawn to music when he heard the music of legendary ragtime composer Scott Joplin. After moving to New Orleans, Ellis' jazz chops improved radically as he gigged with the likes of Ellis Marsalis and Walter Payton. After three years in the Big Easy, he went north to New York City, graduating from the New School and settling into the city's thriving jazz scene. Along the way, Ellis spent six years as a member of jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter's group, cutting four albums with them while also developing his own sound. He cut his debut as a leader, The Language of Love, in 1996, then didn't record under his own name again until 2002, when he released the critically acclaimed Roots, Branches and Leaves. That was followed by One Foot in the Swamp (2005), By a Thread (2006), and 2008's Dance Like There's No Tomorrow, his first with Double-Wide. |
Full biography
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