John Ellis / Evolution: Seeds And Streams
Формат записи/Источник записи: [TR24][OF]
Год издания/переиздания диска: 2016
Жанр: Modern Creative, Modern Jazz
Издатель(лейбл): Gondwana Records
Продолжительность: 41:16
Контейнер: FLAC (*.flac)
Тип рипа: tracks
Разрядность: 24/48
Количество каналов: 2.0
Источник (релизер): WEB
Наличие сканов в содержимом раздачи: Буклет PDF
Треклист:
01. Flight 07:29
02. Interlude One 01:41
03. Unidentical Twins 06:08
04. Interlude Two 03:13
05. The Ladder 06:07
06. Poemander 06:50
07. A Bigger Cake 05:23
08. Arrival 04:20
Released November 11, 2016
Evolution: Seeds and Streams was commissioned by Manchester Jazz Festival 2015 and made possible with support from Irwin Mitchell, ACE and PRS for Music Foundation.
Music by: John Ellis
Состав
John Ellis - piano/keyboard
Helena Jane Summerfield - clarinet, tenor sax, flute
Sam Healey - alto sax
Ellie Smith - trombone
Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh - kora
John Haycock - kora
Jessica Macdonald - cello
Pete Turner - bass, synthesizer
Rick Weedon - percussion
Jason Singh - vocal sculpture, beatbox
gondwanarecords.com
John Ellis is a pianist, composer, producer from the north of England. A founder member of The Cinematic Orchestra (contributing heavily to the albums Everyday and Man With The Movie Camera) he has also worked with the likes of Corinne Bailey Rae, Lily Allen and DJ Vadim and led his own trio and 12 piece big band The John Ellis Big Band. In 2015 John collaborated with visual artist Antony Barkworth Knight for the Irwin Mitchell commission at the Manchester Jazz Festival and it is this collaboration that gave birth to Evolution: Seeds & Streams.
Cinematic in scope and sound Evolution: Seeds & Streams takes flight from jazz, electronic music and Malian music influences to create something wholly unique and compelling but with a spiritual center that gives the music real heart. It is a recording that marks the emergence of Ellis as a major artist.
allaboutjazz.com
John Ellis: Evolution - Seeds And Streams ****
By PHIL BARNES
December 19, 2016
There's a temptation to assume with evolution that all of history has been leading to this point, that today's dominant species or situation will continue as such forever. Nonsense of course, think of the changes in the lifetimes of current generations and it's clear that evolution is not a defined end point but a dynamic, continuing process. If nothing else our planet has finite resources, so continuing on a fixed path is unlikely to work forever. Musically the risks are similar, if of a different order, stay static in a comfortable style or genre and you need to have something distinctive or be a whole lot better than the competition to get heard. But the musician who forces changes risks the irrelevance of following the herd too. Better then to take your own path, to do what is right for the work, and accept the consequences in both evolutionary and critical terms. Which brings us nicely to John Ellis UK and his fine first solo album.
As a significant contributor to those wonderful albums by the Cinematic Orchestra "Everyday" and "The Man With the Movie Camera," terrifyingly more than a dozen years ago, Ellis showed himself as a musician who was not afraid of unusual combinations of sounds or juxtapositions of instrumentation. Here the approach is to draw you in with familiar sounds or references, before throwing some inspired, unusual, combinations into the mix. Take the way that the decayed synthesizer and cymbal of "Interlude 2" sounds like the ambient wash of some great lost mid-90s LTJ Bukem production but leads into "The Ladder" with its prominent use of the kora. The synthesizer rhythm is every bit as deep as something on, say, St. Germain's classic Boulevard, yet the clever use of instrumentation takes us somewhere different.
This is a very hard balance to strike and harder still to execute well, but Ellis succeeds because of the love and intensity in the work. Opener "Flight" also uses an analogue synthesizer pattern as a base but builds into something restrained, flowing and rhythmic. Layering birdsong, piano, bass and kora the piece conceivably supports both the literal interpretation of birds in flight, but also a metaphorical freeing of the soul. Ellis' piano solo on this piece is particularly good, a high altitude glide lifted by the musical equivalent of thermal currents. "Unidentical Twins" builds from the opening kora and bells through rippled clusters of notes from Ellis into a gently insistent theme. There's a wonderful optimism about this as if emerging from darkness into the pre-dawn of a changed world or state that is completely absorbing and beguiling.
The project was a commission for the Manchester Jazz festival, where the music was combined with striking visual projections from filmmaker Antony Barkworth-Knight. Some of these can be found on the internet and the addition of the animation certainly adds a further dimension to what was already a visual music. Add to this the Gondwana records attention to detail from the sound quality of the music and mastering to the striking artwork by Daniel Halsall and you have a package of the highest quality.
For Ellis the evolution works on multiple levels. While the global macro level is clear, there is a personal level of evolution in terms of stepping away from the habits and thought patterns that fitted a previous situation onto a new creative path. 'Evolution: Seeds & Streams' emphatically succeeds at both this and the artistic level as a memorable and thoughtful collection. In a troubled 2016 when spirituality and thoughtfulness have been at a premium, Ellis' collection stands out unambiguously. Highly recommended.
Track Listing: Flight; Interlude One; Unidentical Twins; Interlude Two; The Ladder; Poemander; A Bigger Cake; Arrival.
Personnel: John Ellis: piano, keyboard; Pete Turner: bass, synthesizer; Helena Jane Summerfield: clarinet, tenor sax, flute; Sam Healey: alto sax; Ellie Smith: trombone; Jessica Macdonald: cello; Jali Nyonkoling Kuyateh: kora; John Haycock: kora; Rick Weedon: percussion; Jason Singh: beatboxer.
Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Gondwana Records | Style: Modern Jazz
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发表于 2020-9-24 12:47:31
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