Ellman

Having a String Choir perform The Music of Paul Motian is certainly an attention-grabber if one knows anything about Paul Motian's contributions to the jazz world. Motian is a veteran drummer and a composer, not a member of a chamber group (although he started out on guitar early in his career before making the drums his main instrument). So what does a Motian-related project have to do with strings? This early-2010 recording, it turns out, finds guitarist Joel Harrison paying tribute to Motian with the help of fellow guitarist Liberty Ellman and a string quartet consisting of Christian Howes and Sam Bardfeld on violin, Dana Leong on cello, and Mat Maneri or Peter Ugrin on viola.

Walter Wolfman Washington is a soulful musician of rare talent, as well as a deep thinker and hip philosopher, and his hometown is New Orleans. Walter has cut his teeth for the last 50 years playing everywhere from European festivals to bars that Google Maps will never find. New Orleans is notorious for its wildness, parades, and celebrations. New Orleans is Mardi Gras, but it’s also the uptown class of Allen Toussaint and hip style and language of Dr. John. Walter has always embodied both, but finally we have a set of songs that reflects the yin to Walter’s bring-the-party yang. This is the record that we all have known he has in him. This is the night after that party, or maybe just the after party. He’s been given free rein to express himself, and that’s special.