Lisle Ellis

Bassist Lisle Ellis first came to light via his late-'80s and early-'90s collaborations with fellow Canadian, pianist Paul Plimley. Ellis went on to collaborate with a variety of free jazz artists on the West Coast, including clarinetist François Houle, drummer Donald Robinson, and violinist India Cooke. Other partners have included such Northern California-based musicians as saxophonist Glenn Spearman, pianist Matthew Goodheart, and saxophonist Larry Ochs. With Ochs and Robinson, Ellis formed the trio What We Live in the mid-'90s; the group has recorded for both the Black Saint and New World labels. Ellis now lives in the U.S. and is an active participant on the San Francisco Bay Area free jazz scene. A well-rounded musician, Ellis' work draws heavily on art music outside the jazz domain, as evidenced by his work with such players as the classically oriented percussionist William Winant and the members of the ROVA Saxophone Quartet.