reviews of releases
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
Boasting fluid ensemble interplay, dramatic stylistic shifts and rich harmonic writing, Sucker Punch Requiem blends forward thinking experimentation with old school craft, resulting in one of Ellis' most accessible and rewarding albums.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
'Sucker Punch Requiem' is a most fascinating work. . . . Each piece is like a painting with attention to each detail on the canvas . . . 'Sucker Punch Requiem' is a wonderful endeavor overall and not very "out." This might come as a surprise to some who expect more outside sounds from Lisle based on his previous recordings. Forget those expectations and enjoy this special gift.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
And then, during a full listening, I realised that there were two aspects to the album. A smaller part is the constructed stream, from the opening it appears in a number of 'interludes' - shorter pieces which are titled Perishable fig. 1a to 3. These create interesting contrasts to the longer parts, and carry the themes of the opening.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
You put it on out of curiosity, and what you get is a different musical world than the one you know . . . Ellis manages to create his own musical world here, based on the example of - and in homage to - graffitti poet and painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. . . . And the musicianship is truly great . . .
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
His sensitivity to the visual, as well as musical, realms makes him ideally suited to salute Basquiat's graffiti-inspired paintings. His music on this album dances between - and around - form and abstraction, tradition and confrontation, clarity and distortion.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
Despite Basquiat's frequent references to jazz, bassist/composer/painter Lisle Ellis is the first in the jazz world to create an album-length homage to the painter's life and work...The point of the project is as a springboard, something to be revisited time and again as Ellis solidifies the relationship between the painter's immense oeuvre and his own work.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
The diversity held throughout this CD is astonishing, disarming, and unmistakably truthful, as testament to the fortitude of Ellis, a high-water mark for his career, and a marvelous statement as to how different elements of art can be made into startling music.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
With help from such stellar musical pals as saxophonist Oliver Lake, flutist Holly Hofmann and pianistMike Wofford, erstwhile San Diego bassist and electronic musician Lisle Ellis pays tribute to the late New York painter his album is named after. Blessed …
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged cities and eyes, the skein
Sembrerebbe che la musica al femminile si presenti gentile e delicata, ed invece no, il duo The Skein, composto dalla vocalista inglese Jessica Constable e dall´americana Andrea Parkins alla fisarmonica elettrica e strumentazioni elettroniche, fa subito pulizia con questo pregiudizio. …
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged cities and eyes, the skein
I was surprised by the wealth of evocative and expressive sounds that this fine duo pulls off. Jessica seems to be singing in some strange invented language (when she is not singing in English) while Andrea adds layers of kaleidoscopic electronic sounds that are forever in flux.