Search - Dave Ellis :: State of Mind

Dave Ellis is just warming up

Ronald Cabral | Concord, CA USA | 07/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"State of Mind is a wonderful jazz CD. Dave Ellis is just warming up and his all time best is yet to come, but this has to be his all time best to date. A former Sax player in Bob Weir's RATDOG he is a seasoned professional who has been there and done that. He is a true Sax genius with over tones of a young John Coltrane and Stan Getz combined. His strong rock and roll background gives him that extra drive that you hear and feel in his great playing - it comes off the ground at times. Highly recommended... especially if you are a true jazz lover..."

You'd better have a strong, original voice . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 08/19/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

". . . if as leader you select Mulgrew Miller for the piano chair. Case in point: Dave Ellis, tenor sax player in the Charlie Hunter Band, and his new disc, State of Mind. Miller literally takes over the proceedings and leaves Ellis in the dust. Check out Miller's solo on his brilliant composition, "Soul-Leo," where he rips off stunning and imaginative runs as if they were the merest trifles, while the leader struggles to come up with something, anything significant to say.Never less than competent, Ellis has yet to find a distinctive voice on tenor sax. Actually, he's pretty convincing on the ballads--a good sign for future development--but seems somewhat lost on the more uptempo numbers.Yet time and again things really only come alive when Miller is front and center. With literally hundreds of recording dates under his belt, it's no wonder: he's paid his dues, struggled to find his voice, and it gloriously shines forth here. In fact, if one were to regard this as Miller's recording, it would be hard to deny it five stars. But it's not. However, if you're on to Miller, you will definitely want to add this disc to your collection; it really is one of his finest efforts. Throw in two towering rhythm sections--Peter Washington (bass) and Carl Alan (drums) or Christian McBride (bass) and Louis Nash (drums)--and you have some awesome possibilities for great music, which, it must be said, is regularly delivered. And I don't want to portray Ellis as a stiff; actually, he's developing quite nicely from his Charlie Hunter days and his previous two solo outings. It's just that he's chosen to put himself in some very rarified settings. That he doesn't always fully rise to the occasion doesn't diminish the quality of the proceedings; it just means that he's not the leader he might one day become. In the meantime, he's made some very creditable music on this disc, brought most fully to life by his choice of top drawer bandmates.4 and 1/2 stars."

Stellar as usual

Greg Randolph | Johnson City, Tennessee United States | 08/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like one of the prior reviewers, I have been following Ellis' career since his days with The Charlie Hunter Trio and Charlie Hunter Quartet. Unlike that same reviewer, I think that this change of pace album is a classic. As with his first two solo releases "Raven" and "In The Long Run", Ellis puts his own signature sound to some jazz classics as well as his originals and gives a fresh approach to the tenor sax on each. Ellis blends his own style with that of Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Mike Brecker and Wayne Shorter. He can "squonk" the lower register with the best of them and play fluidly and melodically just as easily. Joining Ellis on this recording is legendary pianist Mulgrew Miller, "Bassenstein" himself Christian McBride, and the always stellar Lewis Nash on drums, just to name a few. I think what makes Ellis a true American original is his ever changing style on each album. From his stint with Hunter to his solo releases, Ellis is never boring and always puts a fresh spin on an old classic making us believe that it is indeed his own. Keep up the great work Dave, I look forward to your next release."