Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone
Gary Versace: Hammond organ
Gerald Cleaver: drums
Gary Versace: Hammond organ
Gerald Cleaver: drums
"Saxist Ellery Eskelin’s long-running trio with drummer Jim Black and accordionist Andrea Parkins was built for instability. The band, which worked steadily from the mid-’90s to the mid-aughts, proudly espoused NYC’s downtown-jazz ethos with its punky blend of chaos and whimsy.
Eskelin’s new three-piece, Trio New York, represents a clear rebranding. The group’s instrumentation—the leader’s tenor, plus Gary Versace’s organ and Gerald Cleaver’s drums—references the earthy tradition of ’60s soul jazz, as well as the working life of Eskelin’s mother, Bobbie Lee, a professional organist during the same decade."
