»A stutter can be a musical instrument.« These are the opening words of the fascinating second album by JJJJJerome Ellis, a proud stutterer and Grenadian–Jamaican–American artist and musician. And indeed: the pauses between the notes, the moments in which the pieces are allowed to breathe, are almost as central to these six tracks as the floating sounds of piano, woodwinds, or chord zither.
Ellis comes from a family of preachers, and spirituality is a central point of reference in their work. It is therefore no surprise that the title track of Vesper Sparrow – a reference to the Christian hymn »His Eye Is on the Sparrow« – is framed by a four-part »Evensong«: Ellis’ own interpretation of the sung evening prayer rooted in the Anglican tradition.
The sounds are filigree, as if Ellis were building ever new castles in the air from grains of sand. This idiosyncratic amalgam of New Age, drones, gospel, ambient, singing, spoken word, and jazz emerged from a session recorded in 2019. Ellis digitally processed the material and broke it down into the smallest possible units, which they refer to as »grains«. In an almost pointillist manner, these fragments are reassembled into a woven sonic fabric that carries Ellis’ saxophone playing and their fragile voice. The result often feels ethereal, and at times like noise in its most delicate form.
