Liberty Ellman

Item: Tactiles
Author: Jeff Cebulski

Tactiles

(2003)

Reviewed by Jeff Cebulski

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Label Pi RecordingsThe Phantom Tollbooth2004

experimental jazz

This CD was stuck in the radio station stacks until I noticed Mr. Ellman's friends: saxophonists Greg Osby and Mark Shim, bassist Stephen Crump, and drummer Eric Harland. Once in the player, the listener is surprised to hear most everyone except Ellman, who patiently waits for his mates to register the proper tone, harmony, and (sometimes) melody before rising into the middle channel to advance clear, understated solos that recall some of Scofield's quieter material when he played in a quartet with Lovano and much of John Abercrombie's ECM nuances. Shim is an emerging comet, and Osby has been considered one of jazz's most innovative players. This album creeps into your mind and soul and gives us hope for the genre.