John Ellis
Mobro
Albüm · Jazz · 2014 · Parade Light Records
Mobro was inspired by a garbage barge of the same name that sparked a national dialogue about various environmental issues in 1987 when it traveled on a 6,000-mile odyssey as it unsuccessfully looked for a place to dump its cargo. For this 75-minute through-composed work, saxophonist/composer John Ellis worked with librettist Andy Bragen as well as an impressive lineup of nine musicians and four singers to bring this artistic vision to life. Like Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, the music here ventures from jazz into chorale horns, ambient pop, and classical. Punk rock even rears its head on the abrasive “Storm,” which opens with horns and the guttural shouts of singer Miles Griffith. Featuring singers Becca Stevens and Sachal Vasandani, “Rejection” sounds closer to the moody ambience of Bill Frisell and Björk. Those seeking something “jazzier” can look to the swinging “Self Knowledge” or “Mutiny/Rejection,” which has a great trumpet solo from Shane Endsley. The work ends (as should everything) with a New Orleans funeral march.
Mobro
John Ellis
Mobro was inspired by a garbage barge of the same name that sparked a national dialogue about various environmental issues in 1987 when it traveled on a 6,000-mile odyssey as it unsuccessfully looked for a place to dump its cargo. For this 75-minute through-composed work, saxophonist/composer John Ellis worked with librettist Andy Bragen as well as an impressive lineup of nine musicians and four singers to bring this artistic vision to life. Like Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, the music here ventures from jazz into chorale horns, ambient pop, and classical. Punk rock even rears its head on the abrasive “Storm,” which opens with horns and the guttural shouts of singer Miles Griffith. Featuring singers Becca Stevens and Sachal Vasandani, “Rejection” sounds closer to the moody ambience of Bill Frisell and Björk. Those seeking something “jazzier” can look to the swinging “Self Knowledge” or “Mutiny/Rejection,” which has a great trumpet solo from Shane Endsley. The work ends (as should everything) with a New Orleans funeral march.
