JOHN ELLIS – Say It Quiet (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24bit/96kHz | Time – 46:14 minutes | 929 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sunnyside
Decades of friendship and the crossing of paths in the music industry does not necessarily guarantee opportunities for intimate, meaningful collaboration. Professional musicians know that the balance between making a living and pursuing dream projects usually tilts toward whatever keeps a roof over one’s head. But every so often, the chance to get a project together that is musically and emotionally rewarding comes about. Such opportunities must be grabbed.
The collaborative recording, Say It Quiet, by longtime friends John Ellis, Adam Levy, and Glenn Patscha is the result of taking advantage of such an opportunity. These three brilliant, busy musicians take the time to put together a gorgeously crafted collection of songs chosen to showcase their sympathetic personalities and musical approaches.
The Canadian born and Nova Scotia based Patscha was already working professionally before relocating to New Orleans to study with the late, great Ellis Marsalis. Patscha became one of the stalwart jazz pianists on the scene, where he met the future woodwind ace, John Ellis, who came from North Carolina. It wasn’t long before Patscha looked to the world of rock and pop music to make a living, leaving the jazz scene to record and tour with the likes of Marianne Faithful, Levon Helm, Sheryl Crow, and Bonnie Raitt.
In the meantime, Ellis established himself as one of the most in demand woodwind players in New York in the fields of jazz and pop music. Through an introduction by Charlie Hunter, Ellis met guitarist and Californian Adam Levy, who has toured and recorded with both Norah Jones and with Tracy Chapman. At the same time, Patscha had created his band Ollabelle and would cross paths with Levy at Jones’s beloved Living Room residency in New York City or the Carriage House in Boston, striking up a friendly bond.
Tracklist:
1. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Bahia
2. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – If It’s Magic
3. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Barakaat
4. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Magnolia Triangle
5. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Eleanor
6. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Motherless Child
7. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield
8. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Better Angels
9. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Dogwood
10. John Ellis, Adam Levy, Glenn Patscha – Portage La Prairie
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