JJJJJerome Ellis - Evensong, Part 1 (Shelter Press) [Jazz]

JJJJJerome Ellis is back in the blog with another singular transmission on the way to his much anticipated longer player dropping in November, if you missed the first instalment then get with the program, he's not sounding like anyone else around and deserves your attention.

If you weren't aware he doesn't shy away from his childhood stutter, learning not just to live with it, but incorporate it into his creative process, and the spoken introduction to "Evensong, Part 1" lays it bare, "A stutter can be a musical instrument" - damn right it can.

The track then launches into a full on spiritual nu-jazz wall of sound that courses through the speakers and your consciousness with its layered vocal refrain, floor to ceiling ambient synths and wave after wave of Eastern evoking dulcimer, before his spiritual sax line floats through, over and around the transcendent clamour.

The autobiography doesn't stop there though, the music then gets rudely yanked down a peg or three so Ellis can tell you where it was made in his pleasing, matter of fact tones - the catalyst to ratchet up the electronics for a final burst of sonic intensity, a raucous backdrop for Ellis to return and tell us about granular production techniques, and then suddenly nothing except machine rain drops so Ellis can finish his production podcast in relative calm. Bring on the album. Now please.

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Playlist Companion

Find JJJJerome Ellis in the Slow Jazz Playlist.