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Guitarist, composer, and bandleader Liberty Ellman was born in London, and
raised in both New York and the San Francisco Bay-Area. The product of a
musical family, Liberty had a guitar in his hands by age 5. At 13 Liberty
realized the treasures in his family's LP collection, discovering artists
from John Coltrane and Miles Davis, to Ravi Shankar, and Robert Johnson,
cementing his passion for music and improvisation, leading to long nights of
listening, studying and then ultimately, performing professionally at 17.
During and after his university years, Liberty developed his craft in San
Francisco. He played scores of jazz gigs, recorded on 3 albums with pianist
Vijay Iyer, worked with Hip-Hop groups Midnight Voices and the Coup,
performed and recorded with innovative Koto artist Miya Masaoka, recorded
his acclaimed CD, "Orthodoxy" (Red Giant), and had the privilege of
performing with alto saxophonist Steve Coleman in the first incarnation of
Mystic Rhythm Society.
In 1998, Liberty returned to New York and immersed himself in a vital music
community. Before long, thanks to hard work and some good fortune, he was
asked to contribute his talents to performances and recordings with forward
thinking musicians like Greg Osby, Henry Threadgill, and the pioneer of
Conduction, Lawrence "Butch" Morris. His contribution to Mr. Threadgill's CD
"Up Popped The Two Lips" (Pi Recordings, 2001) has been acknowledged by
critics worldwide.
Some of the other musicians Liberty has had the pleasure of working with
include Oliver Lake, Bob Stewart, Steven Bernstein, Josh Roseman, Drew
Gress, Reid Anderson, JT Lewis, Peter Apfelbaum, Barney McCall, Lonnie
Plaxico, Nasheet Waits, Jason Moran, Craig Tayborn, François Moutin, and
Rudresh Mahanthappa.
The Liberty Ellman Quartet is powered by the rhythm section of Derrek
Phillips (seen with Dave Douglas, Jason Moran) on drums and Stephan Crump
(seen with Bobby Previte, Sonny Fortune) on bass, who have been working
together with Liberty for 3 years. The marvelous Mark Shim (David Murray,
Betty Carter) plays tenor saxophone, blending and complimenting creatively
and sonically with Libertyıs unique guitar work. The band features original
compositions inspired by the jazz tradition in the exploration of rhythm,
melody and harmony, drawing on modern composition concepts and polyrhythmic
structures, always delivered with the intent of resonating with the
audience.
As a point of reference, Liberty's musical inspiration comes from legendary
innovators like Monk, Miles, Andrew Hill, Ellington, Bartok, and modern
artists like Bjork, Squarepusher and Radiohead - artists who relentlessly
search for new textures and find imaginative ways to work with a group.
WHAT THE LISTENERS SAY ABOUT LIBERTY ELLMAN:
"I really liked it. I need to check this guy out! 5 stars." -- Bill Frisell, Blindfold test in Down Beat
"One get the sense of a relaxed, grounded talent at work." -- Ben Ratliff, New York Times
"He's got one of the contemporary scene's most singular approaches to the modern guitar lingo." -- Jim Macnie, The Village Voice
"Word has definitely been circulating about his gifts..." -- K. Leander Williams, Time Out, New York
"..the gifted Ellman broache[s] a thoughtful lyricism with touches of Django. The guitarist is remarkably quick on his feet; he examines the rhythmic turf, thinks his phrases, and within a few bars finds a groove." -- Gary Giddins, The Village Voice
October 2002
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