Search - Jeff Elliott :: Different Jungles

Accomplished trumpeter-composer Jeff Elliott has a resume which includes work with Les McCann, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, gigs with James Brown, and countless others, and has released his long-awaited debut as a leader, the aptly-named "Different Jungles." Not surprisingly for such a versatile and creatively vibrant musician, his album is an eclectic adventure in music. Jazz, funk grooves, soulful melodies, experimental touches, and dazzling brass writing lie in wait in these jungles...not to mention tasteful virtuosity. Collaborators include drummers Mike Clark (Headhunters) and Cougar Estrada (Los Lobos), bassist Randy Tico, saxist Vince Denham (Kenny Loggins), and keyboardist Karen Hammack.Recorded over a long, intensive period in Beagle Studio, in Elliott?s hometown of Santa Barbara, Different Jungles is an apt title for an album covering multiple stylistic bases. But its different concepts works towards a cohesive whole. The CD opens with one of several tunes graced with Elliott?s dazzling, intricate brass arrangements, "A.D.H.D.," and the program also includes the Monk-meets-Weather Report-ish funk-swing of "Weather Monk," the colorful sonic textures of "Elephant?s Graveyard" and "Five Cavemen? Five Trumpets." "Twins Tribute" pays homage to the 9/11 tragedy and "The Resurrection of Joey Crown" is a concept piece with a film noir-like storyline. "Millennium Jazz Dance" updates Eddie Harris? "Freedom Jazz Dance," and "Pelican?s Blues" closes the album with a soft bluesy purr. As Elliott writes in his liner notes, the album has a scenic quality, related to his memories of world travels and personal visions: "Music to me has always presented itself through pictures in my mind?" With this inspiring and wide-ranging musical adventure, Elliott?s life as a leader officially begins. Stay tuned: he?s got some fresh ideas about the nature, and the breadth, of the thing called jazz.