Marcos Varela Quartet

Liberty Ellman leads his quartet at Mr. Tipple's for an evening showcasing his sophisticated guitar compositions and angular, precision-driven jazz. As Henry Threadgill's longtime guitarist in the Pulitzer Prize-winning ensemble Zooid, Ellman has spent two decades developing his distinctive voice—one that moves from Wes Montgomery to Bill Frisell territory with a metallic sheen and careful, lucid strokes.

Ellman's music blends steely Manhattan edge with cerebral detachment, crafting intricate ensemble themes that progress through polyrhythmic patterns and dissonant harmonies. His guitar sound features shadowy pedal steel colorings and subtle electronic interludes, all delivered with what critics call "reckless invention" balanced by "highly controlled" execution. The compositions are challenging yet organic, with dense structures that somehow maintain an underlying groove.

Joining Ellman is saxophonist Patrick Wolff, a veteran of the New York and San Francisco jazz scenes who has performed with Albert "Tootie" Heath, Matt Wilson, and Louis Moholo-Moholo. Wolff brings decades of experience in mainstream and hard bop traditions to complement Ellman's more avant-garde approach.

The rhythm section features Jerome Gillespie Jr. on drums—a New York-based musician trained at Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard who blends church traditions with hard bop fire—and Marcos Varela on bass, a master of both acoustic and electric instruments who has collaborated with Billy Hart, The Mingus Big Band, and Jason Moran.

In live performance, Ellman creates what reviewers describe as music that's "never chaotic, but never predictable, and always compelling." His ensembles are known for their space and interplay, with measured flexibility that gives each musician room to lead while maintaining the intricate compositional framework. Expect angular lines delivered with intimate precision, where traditional jazz elements bend into "partially unfamiliar shapes" through Ellman's unique compositional vision.