JJJJJerome Ellis - Vesper Sparrow (2025) [Hi-Res]

The debut album by Caribbean-American artist and academic JJJJJerome Ellis on Shelter Press is a unique exploration of Black religious music, presented in an elevated, forward style. It interweaves spiritual jazz, baroque organ music, granular synthesis, and a spoken word narrative. The central theme is the artist's stutter, which they refer to as a "speech block" and embrace as an aesthetic and musical instrument, referencing their 2020 essay that links the condition to the experience of Black people in America. Ellis utilizes granular synthesis to split recordings into tiny "grains" and rearrange them, mimicking the disfluency of speech. The musical material is diverse, ranging from quivering hammered dulcimer and saxophone parts to the use of distortion, 808 bass thuds, and trilling hi-hats. The title track features a small ensemble with piano, flute, and vocals, adding a theatrical element, while the climactic track, "Savannah Sparrow," combines saxophone improvisations and vocals with sublime organ drones, achieving a meditative stasis. Ellis explains that their acceptance of the stutter came when they began to play the saxophone.

Tracklist:
1-1 JJJJJerome Ellis - Evensong, part 1 (for and after June Kramer) [3:24]
1-2 JJJJJerome Ellis - Evensong, part 2 (for and after James Harrison Monaco) [3:11]
1-3 JJJJJerome Ellis - Vesper Sparrow (feat. Haruna Lee, James Harrison Monaco, Ronald Peet, and S T A R R (busby)) [8:44]
1-4 JJJJJerome Ellis - Savannah Sparrow (for and after Kenita Miller) [16:44]
1-5 JJJJJerome Ellis - Evensong, part 3 (for and after Jessica Valoris) [2:26]
1-6 JJJJJerome Ellis - Evensong, part 4 (for and after okcandice) [2:39]