Search - Moppa Elliott :: Mostly Other People Do the Killing

Excerpts from Reviews

M. Elliott | new york | 08/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""...His music has a touch of rollicking Jazz history in its makeup suggested by the bright refrains from trumpeter Evans and saxophonist Irabagon plus his quirky compositional form. While the music is thoroughly modern, it references the heyday of New Orleans-style barn burners and several other eras. Evans and Irabagon...thread free passages cleverly into the traditional sounds of the earlier genres. Elliott adds the glue to keep the songs - all his compositions - in tight confinement. He lays down vibrant rhythms around which the horns jostle and cajole taking the pieces to riotous levels while maintaining reference points to earlier periods to depict the illustrious evolution of Jazz.

"The recording sustains an upbeat demeanor that belies its serious-sounding title. Elliott prides himself on crossing lines, breaking rules, and alternating preconceptions. He runs through Honky-Tonk segments only to dissolve the notion with Swing elements that grow into freely improvised passages. Elliott guides the band into continually changing situations while sustaining, with drummer Shea, the rhythmic content nestled at the core of this happy outing. Elliott is not making light of the contributions of the music's forerunners. He simply finds pleasure in taking a deviant course not prescribed by convention..."



-Cadence Magazine, July 2005



"From the first seconds of the Ornette-meets-Lacy opening salvo "Elliott Mills", Elliott and his quartet shoot sparks. Shea's drums bustle, Elliott pulses mightily, and Irabagon's soprano twists like a snake fighting its charmer

"Referencing a sense of humor that reminds, at times, of the madcap quirkiness of the Dutch, this is an exciting debut that announces a foursome worth watching."



- One Final Note, May 2005"