John Ellis - Heroes

John Ellis, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist, returns to original composition with his latest album, Heroes. This work comprises eight unreleased pieces, each inspired by “heroes” in the broadest sense—mentors, legendary figures, friends, and family. For this project, Ellis reunites with longtime collaborators pianist Gary Versace and bassist Reuben Rogers, both of whom made a striking impression on his previous album, Bizet: Carmen in Jazz. To this already formidable musical chemistry, he adds the distinguished trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, a key member of the SFJAZZ Collective, and the much sought-after drummer Kush Abadey, renowned for his work alongside Melissa Aldana and Ethan Iverson.

That is the pitch. As for the experience itself, one can only revel in the sheer pleasure of hearing these musicians take joy in Ellis’s exquisite compositions. This album is both deeply personal and intimate, yet also an unmistakable tribute to classical music. Though firmly rooted in jazz, the classical influences are evident—so masterfully woven into the fabric of the music that one would be mad to object. Ellis embraces the challenge of exploring the classic quintet format, the very structure that first captivated him. “I’m fifty now, and this is the music that moved me, that made me want to become a jazz musician,” he confides. “And yet, most of my projects as a bandleader have strayed from this path.” Indeed, his oeuvre testifies to a boundless curiosity, from the orchestral audacity of The Ice Siren and MOBRO to the singular ensemble Double-Wide, where Versace trades the piano for the organ. His collaborations with such esteemed composers as Rudy Royston, Alan Ferber, Darcy James Argue, Kendrick Scott, Helen Sung, and Michael Leonhart have led him into diverse musical realms. And yet, the saxophone/trumpet quintet remains etched in his imagination, a foundation from which he now draws a vast spectrum of lyricism and rhythmic interplay. A native of North Carolina, Ellis was also profoundly shaped by his time in New Orleans, an influence that lingers unmistakably in his compositional voice.

If Ellis’s prowess as a saxophonist is universally acknowledged “An extraordinarily expressive saxophonist,” as Jim Macnie of DownBeat put it, it is because he is, above all, a consummate musician and a composer of both delicate and impassioned craft. His attention to detail extends not only to his own instrument but to the entire ensemble, his arrangements possessing an almost mystical quality.

On the saxophone, Ellis leads a picturesque dialogue, one that compels the listener to close their eyes and surrender to the music. His writing is so refined that, even when the trumpet or another instrument takes the foreground, the energy remains seamless. Each track on this album is a moment in time, a story told by Ellis himself, one need only follow the titles and trace them back to his biography to discern the connections. In 2023, I spoke of his album Carmen in Jazz (review), inspired by Bizet’s masterpiece. What amused me then was that Bizet’s grandson once served as the director of the very conservatory where I took my first steps in music…

Once again, Ellis delivers an indispensable album, discreet in its writing yet utterly captivating, meticulous in its construction, forever in pursuit of a kind of perfection he seems to reach effortlessly. And in the end, there is the joy of witnessing the vision he casts upon his own works.

Thierry De Clemensat
https://www.paris-move.com/reviews/john-ellis-heroes/