One of the things I've always loved about contemporary jazz is the potential it offers those performing and creating it for freedom of creativity. Thanks to the innovators of the past like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Charlie Mingus (to name only a few) the precedent has been set for today's musician to take the music in whatever direction they want and still be able to call it jazz. From the electronic minimalism of Chicago Underground Trio to the near tribal rhythms of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, and everything in between and beyond, it seems the only boundaries left in jazz are those that the musician imposes on him or herself.
However, lest one think that any idiot can pick up a noise maker, squawk out some sounds and call that jazz, the music also has a history that serves as the foundation for all that is being done today. Just like an abstract painter learns figure drawing, the basics of perspective, and how colour and light work together, before moving on to trying to fulfill his vision, or the writer has to learn spelling and grammar before attempting to break those rules with free form poetry, the jazz musician must first be proficient on her instrument of choice, and know the music itself inside out before setting out for in search of new horizons. The best contemporary/experimental jazz musicians are the ones who can play traditional jazz forms like Dixie land as easily as the fusion creations of a group like Weather Report.
The more knowledge that an artist has to draw upon for creations, the greater the artist's potential to create something original; it also increases the chances that the artist will continue to do so throughout his entire career. Listening to the latest release from John Ellis on Hyena Records, John Ellis & Double-wide, Dance Like There's No Tomorrow, the immediate impression is of a man who has allowed himself to thoroughly absorb the music in all of it's permutations until they've become as much second nature as breathing is to most of us. It's not that you are able to listen to any of the 10 songs on the disc and necessarily cite its heritage like you would the breeding record of a thoroughbred horse. It's more that you feel a sense of purpose and direction that only comes from having his been somewhere else first before he's taken on the experimentation that accompanies works that break new ground.
I have to admit that my judgment on this recording might be slightly impaired due to an inordinate fondness on my part for the bass instruments of the brass section in an orchestra. So when I read that Double-wide included a sousaphone player (Matt Perrine), as well as a drummer (Jason Marsalis) and an accordion/organ player (Gary Versace), I was predisposed to liking it even before I listened to it. When the opening notes, of the disc's first cut, "All Up In The Aisles," were played by said sousaphone, I was hooked. In fact I was so captivated by it that it took me to the second time round listening to the song to pay attention to the other instruments and appreciate the song fully.
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