As a stutterer myself, I feel a certain reverence and honour in covering JJJJJerome Ellis. Best described as a genre-bending creative, a boundless sonic explorer, and a fierce thinker, the American multi-instrumentalist and composer has been stuttering his whole life, a factor that greatly inspires his artistic personal expression. Using music as a cathartic tool to connect with others, JJJJJerome particularly blossomed while learning the saxophone, giving him a different perspective on his disability and future potential.
Recently, the Black disabled Grenadian-Jamaican-American artist has unveiled a new piece, ‘Evensong, Part 1 (for and after June Kramer)’, in anticipation of his upcoming sophomore album ‘Vesper Sparrow’. As JJJJJerome explains, “the album is born out of the connection to Black religious tradition and inheritance. It is a continuation of my ongoing study of the intersections between music and sound, stuttering, and Blackness, through the lens of time. The album is comprised of two complete thoughts, and hinges on a recorded stutter.”
Recommended! Discover ‘Evensong, Part 1 (for and after June Kramer)’ on Spotify and YouTube:
