Liberty Ellman (born July 17, 1971) is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitarist born in London and raised in the United States, beginning in New York City. In the early 1980s, Ellman's family moved to California. Before leaving New York, he attended

City and Country School The City and Country School is a progressive independent pre-school and elementary school for children aged 2–14 that is located in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Founding City and Country School was founded by Caroline Pra ...

in Greenwich Village.

Biography

In the 1990s, Ellman was associated with the

M-Base The term "M-Base" is used in several ways. In the 1980s, a loose collective of young African American musicians including Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes, Cassandra Wilson, Geri Allen, Robin Eubanks, and Greg Osby emerged in Brooklyn with a new sound ...

musical scene in San Francisco, California, where he played with

Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (born October 26, 1971) is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, histori ...

Miya Masaoka Miya Masaoka (born 1958, Washington, DC) is an American composer, musician, and sound artist active in the field of contemporary classical music and experimental music. Her work encompasses contemporary classical composition, improvisation, ele ...

Ledisi Ledisi Anibade Young (; born March 28, 1972), better known simply as Ledisi, is an American R&B and jazz recording artist, songwriter, music producer, author and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba.Ledisi AllMusi ...

Steve Coleman Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Early life Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing al ...

, Eric Crystal, EW Wainwright's African Roots of Jazz,

Omar Sosa Omar Sosa (born April 10, 1965) is a jazz pianist from Cuba. Biography A native of Camagüey, Cuba, Sosa studied percussion at the Escuela Nacional de Musica and Instituto Superior de Arte. In the 1980s he started the band Tributo, recording alb ...

, and D'Armous Boone Collective. He worked with hip hop acts

the Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political ...

and Midnight Voices, and performed opening spots for

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

, Pharcyde, and the

Stray Cats Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...

. During this time Ellman composed for the

San Francisco Mime Troupe The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent mime, but each year creates an original ...

. He released his debut album on his label, Red Giant Records, in 1997 and moved back to New York City the following year. Ellman has performed and recorded with

Ben Goldberg Ben Goldberg is an American clarinet player and composer. Career In the early 1990s, Ben Goldberg performed alongside electric bassist Dan Seamans and percussionist Kenny Wollesen as the New Klezmer Trio. They went on to produce three albums an ...

Okkyung Lee Okkyung Lee (born 1975 in Daejeon, South Korea) is a South Korean cellist, improviser, and composer. Lee moved to Boston in 1993, where she received a dual bachelor's degree in Contemporary Writing and Production and Film Scoring (Berklee Colle ...

, Steve Lehman,

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

Rudresh Mahanthappa Rudresh Mahanthappa (born May 4, 1971) is a New York-based jazz alto saxophonist and composer. Biography Mahanthappa is the son of Indian emigrants to the U.S. He was born in Trieste, Italy as a result of his father's job in academia, but spent ...

Barney McAll Barney McAll (born Melbourne, Australia, 1966) is a jazz pianist and composer who lives in Melbourne, Australia. McAll joined Gary Bartz's band in 1997, and has also played with the Josh Roseman Unit, Fred Wesley and the JB's, Groove Collective, ...

Myra Melford Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...

Butch Morris Lawrence Douglas "Butch" Morris (February 10, 1947 – January 29, 2013) was an American cornetist, composer and conductor. He was known for pioneering his structural improvisation method, ''Conduction'', which he utilized on many recordings. B ...

Greg Osby Greg Osby (born August 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, then at the Berklee College of Music. He moved to New York City in 1982, where he played with Jaki ...

Matana Roberts Matana Roberts (born 1975) is an American sound experimentalist, visual artist, jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, composer and improviser based in New York City. They have previously been an active member of the Association for the Advancement of ...

Josh Roseman Josh Roseman (born 5 June 1967) is an American jazz trombonist. His nickname is "Mr. Bone". He studied in Newton North High School. Roseman was born in Boston, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Roseman toured Jamaica with The ...

Michele Rosewoman Michele Rosewoman (born March 19, 1953) is an American jazz pianist who leads the big band New Yor-Uba. She has worked with Baikida Carroll, Julius Hemphill, Julian Priester, Oliver Lake, Billy Bang, Freddie Waits, Rufus Reid, Billy Hart, Re ...

, and

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Free ...

. In 2014 he worked with

Jason Moran Jason Moran may refer to: * Jason Moran (criminal) (1967–2003), Australian mobster * Jason Moran (musician) Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator involved in multimedia art and theatrical inst ...

as part of Luanda Kinshasa, a video installation by filmmaker

Stan Douglas Stan Douglas (born October 11, 1960) is an artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Douglas' film and video installations, photography and work in television frequently touch on the history of literature, cinema and music, while examining t ...

. In 2016 he was asked by

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

to perform a solo concert of a selection of Zorn's ''Bagatelles''. He is a member of

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

's ensemble Zooid. Threadgill's album ''In for a Penny, in for a Pound'' won a

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...

. Ellman is credited as producer and mixing engineer on that album. He mixed and mastered ''Be Good'' by Gregory Porter. The album was nominated for Grammy Award. In 2016, Ellman was voted No. 1 Rising Star guitarist in the ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine Critics' Poll. The expanded Critics' Poll at ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'' magazine named him one of the top jazz guitarists of 2015 with

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

, and

Julian Lage Julian Lage ( ; born December 25, 1987) is an American guitarist and composer. Career A child prodigy, Lage was the subject of the 1996 short documentary film ''Jules at Eight''. At 12, he performed at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Three years later ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Orthodoxy'' (Red Giant, 1997) * ''

Tactiles ''Tactiles'' is an album by jazz guitarist Liberty Ellman, which was recorded in 2003 and released on Pi Recordings. He leads a quartet with Mark Shim on tenor sax, Stephan Crump on bass and Eric Harland on drums. The album also features alto saxo ...

'' (Pi, 2003) * ''

Ophiuchus Butterfly ''Ophiuchus Butterfly'' is an album by jazz guitarist Liberty Ellman, which was recorded in 2005 and released on Pi Recordings. He leads a sextet with Steve Lehman on alto sax, Mark Shim on tenor sax, Jose Davila on tuba, Stephan Crump on bass an ...

'' (Pi, 2006) * ''Radiate'' (Pi, 2015) * ''Last Desert'' (Pi, 2020)

As sideman

With

* ''Memorophilia'' (Asian Improv 1995) * ''Architextures'' (Asian Improv 1998) * ''In What Language?'' (Pi, 2003) * ''Still Life with Commentator'' (Savoy, 2007) * ''Holding It Down'' (Pi, 2013) With

* ''Snowy Egret'' (Yellowbird, 2015) * ''The Other Side of Air'' (Firehouse 12, 2018) * ''12 from 25'' (Firehouse 12, 2018) With Jason Robinson * ''Resonant Geographies'' (pfMENTUM, 2018) * ''The Two Faces of Janus'' (Cuneiform, 2010) * ''Tiresian Symmetry'' (Cuneiform, 2012) With Somi * ''Live at Jazz Standard'' (Palmetto, 2011) * ''The Lagos Music Salon'' (Okeh, 2014) * ''Petite Afrique'' (Okeh, 2017) With

* ''Up Popped the Two Lips'' (Pi, 2001) * ''Pop Start the Tape, Stop'' (Hardedge, 2004) * ''This Brings Us to Volume I'' (Pi, 2009) * ''This Brings Us to Volume II'' (Pi, 2010) * ''Tomorrow Sunny/the Revelry, Spp'' (Pi, 2012) * ''In for a Penny, In for a Pound'' (Pi, 2015) * ''Dirt...and More Dirt'' (Pi, 2018) With others * J. D. Allen, ''Radio Flyer'' (Savant, 2017) * J. D. Allen, ''Love Stone'' (Savant, 2018) *

Jen Chapin Jennifer Chapin is an American singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of the singer-songwriter Harry Chapin and Sandra Chapin. She serves on the board of directors of WhyHunger, a grassroots support organization founded in 1975 by her father and ...

, ''Light of Mine'' (Purple Chair Music, 2008) *

Groove Collective Groove Collective is an American band. In 2007 they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year for the release ''People People Music Music'' on the Savoy Jazz label. Style Groove Collective was formed in 1990 ...

, ''People People Music Music'' (Savoy, 2005) * Dealers of God, ''Dealer's Choice'' (Panda Rosa Music/self-released/unsigned, 2023) *

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...

, ''6th Avenue Romp'' (Joyous Shout!, 2006) *

Joel Harrison Joel Harrison is an American jazz guitarist, singer, composer, and arranger. Career Harrison was born in Washington, D.C. and graduated from Bard College, New York, in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in composition and performance. His father was ...

, ''The Music of Paul Motian'' (Sunnyside, 2010) *

J. C. Hopkins J.C. Hopkins is an American bandleader, writer, record producer, and Grammy-nominated producer, and songwriter. Biography California J.C. Hopkins was born and raised in Cypress, California, United States, to a Mexican-American mother, and a fathe ...

, ''Underneath a Brooklyn Moon'' (Tigerlily, 2005) *

& Steve Lehman, ''Dual Identity'' (Clean Feed, 2010) * Masaoka Orchestra, ''What Is the Difference Between Stripping & Playing the Violin?'' (Victo, 1998) *

, ''Mother of Dreams and Secrets'' (Research, 2018) *

, ''Treats for the Nightwalker'' (Enja, 2003) *

Adam Rudolph Adam Rudolph (born September 12, 1955) is a jazz composer and percussionist performing in the post-bop and world fusion media. In 1988, Rudolph met jazz musician Yusef Lateef, and the two would go on to collaborate and perform together for th ...

, ''Turning Towards the Light'' (Cuneiform, 2015)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellman, Liberty 1971 births British emigrants to the United States English jazz guitarists English male guitarists Living people Musicians from London Pi Recordings artists 21st-century British guitarists 21st-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians