When I see a local group is going to be playing a huge, beautiful venue like the Kimmel Center sitting right smack in the middle of our city, like any Philadelphian would, I swell up with pride. But when that group is not only local, but also groundbreaking and original, well, this time I almost burst.
Philadelphia’s best answer to the question of what lies in that dead zone between Jazz and Rock is a musical Ellipsis. This trio of local Jazz session vets have come out of the Indie-rock closet, admitting that they love bands like Radiohead and Bright Eyes, and filling in the spaces between two formerly conflicting genres with jazz-inspired rock covers. Pianist John Stenger backed by the powerful rhythm section of drummer Justin Leigh and bassist Ray Clemens snagged the opening slot at the Medeski, Martin and Wood concert at the Kimmel Center on April 7th and used it as an opportunity to show a wider audience that a simple rock melody and some complex chords make a beautiful combination.
Ellipsis opened their set in the Kimmel’s massive, open lobby filling the room up to it’s glass ceiling with one of their signature tunes, Radiohead’s “Knives Out.” When they slowed and quieted down into Joni Mitchell, cocktail drinkers and passersby slowed down as well and settled in to watch. The audience went from old women yelling at their nearly deaf husbands, “He said Joni MITCHELL,” to young kids in itchy sweaters with their middle aged moms in black strapless dresses, but despite the wide range of ages and tastes every listener was enthralled.
After a sweet, emotive original called “A Song for You” written by Leigh, Ellipsis finished their set with the Beatles’ “She’s So Heavy,” making an primal brew of strong, catchy rock hooks infused with spiraling jazz solos.
Experiencing Ellipsis out of their usual smoky club setting and seeing them command such a spacious and foreign venue really brought out the meaning in their idea of genre-mixing. Jazz is not just for cocktail hours at swanky clubs and rock is not just for basement parties and 20-somethings in horizontal stripes, music resists the contraints and limitations of labels and genres in the same way that its listeners do.
During the last notes of “She’s So Heavy,” Clemens’ head jerked in jam appreciation and Leigh’s face was scrunched up in concentration, but Stenger maintained his cool, calm demeanor as his trio tore a hole through the center of rock and roll and shoved a jazz riff through. His final solo traded frantic notes between hands sharply, then melted to liquid in the middle register, pouring itself down into the bass. The band joined back in gently, cautiously returning to the original Beatles sound with a crescendo that smashed and chopped the song’s end.
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April 22nd, 2006 at 1:40 pm
incredible.