Dave Ellis

In the Long Run

****

Few if any musicians currently on the charts, or the planet for that matter, cover as much stylistic territory as Dave Ellis. A founding member of the Charlie Hunter Trio, Ellis has long been an insider among the Bay area's acid jazz elite. Somewhere along the line, Ellis and former CHT drummer Jay Lane took a long strange musical detour, joining Bob Weir's post-Garcia touring band, Ratdog. Most recently, Ellis has been blowing his tenor sax with the Other Ones, along with Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart from the Dead, as well as Bruce Hornsby, drummer John Molo and guitarists Mark Karan and Steve Kimock

-In the Long Run- finds Ellis in a wonderfully jazzy mood. Picking up where his solo debut, -Raven-, left off, the new CD is a more cohesive exploration of everything -bop- than it's predecessor. Gone is the small, yet distracting dose of -smooth- jazz that diluted Raven. Every track on -In the Long Run- has something to say. Whether he's twisting every last drop of melody out of Duke Ellington's -Just Squeeze Me-, or blowing through a stunning rendition of Cole Porter's -You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To-, Ellis' interpretations of the masters are highly personal and flawless. His three original compositions (two co-written with Jeff Chimenti on piano) are each delightful, raising hopes for a record of nothing but originals from the sax legend-in-the-making. With this much talent, anything seems possible -In the Long Run-.