Ellery Eskelin

Quick Facts

Full Name	Ellery Eskelin
Occupation	Saxophonist
Date Of Birth	Aug 16, 1959(1959-08-16)
Age	65
Birthplace	Wichita
Country	United States
Birth City	Kansas
Horoscope	Leo

Ellery Eskelin Biography

Ellery Eskelin is one of the most popular and richest Saxophonist who was born on August 16, 1959 in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Saxophonist who is known for his unconventional techniques of playing that is called “a major player in today’s creative music” by Down Beat Magazine.

He mentions He cites Stan Getz as an early saxophone influence. as the first saxophone player to influence him.

Ellery Eskelin began playing tenor saxophone in 1969 at the age of ten. In interviews he claims his early influences as Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz, Stan Getz and John Coltrane. His mother, organist Bobbie Lee, learned to play music in the Pentecostal church as a teenager, the influence of which carried over into her playing of secular music and also provided a strong and lasting influence on Eskelin. Her playing was characterized by a strong rhythmic feel and a commanding delivery of American songs. Eskelin’s grandfather was the musical director of the church and played the pedal steel guitar in services while performing on the electric guitar professionally in Baltimore during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Eskelin attended Towson University where he studied classical saxophone with Joseph Briscuso and performed in composer Hank Levy’s Jazz Ensemble which played Levy’s “odd-meter” big band compositions exclusively. Bassist Drew Gress was a fellow student with whom Eskelin continues to collaborate and perform with to the present day. In 1979 Eskelin met pianist Marc Copland and joined Copland’s band for engagements in Washington D.C. including the Cellar Door, Blues Alley and the One Step Down. Copland was a former New York saxophonist who moved to Washington DC and switched to piano in order to more deeply explore the role of harmony in his own music. Eskelin, along with Drew Gress, would reunite with Copland years later in New York City in one of Eskelin’s early groups as a leader. Also in 1979 Eskelin encountered bay area saxophonist Mel Ellison who was performing in Baltimore for an extended engagement with trumpeter Ted Curson’s group. Eskelin took an informal lesson with Ellison, whose unique style made a lasting impression. Also in this group was drummer Tom Rainey, who in subsequent years Eskelin would tour and record with as part of bassist Mark Helias’ ensemble.

Parents, Rodd Keith and Bobbie Lee were both professional musicians.

Ellery Eskelin Net Worth

Ellery Eskelin is one of the richest Saxophonist from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Ellery Eskelin 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

He began playing tenor saxophone at age ten.

The Album The Sun Died was chosen as one of the Top 10 Recordings of 1996 by The New York Times.

Ellery Eskelin (born August 16, 1959) is an American tenor saxophonist, born in Wichita, Kansas, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, from the age of two. His parents, Rodd Keith and Bobbie Lee, were both professional musicians. Rodd Keith died in 1974 in Los Angeles, California, and became a cult figure after his death in the little-known field of “song-poem” music. Organist Bobbie Lee performed in local nightclubs in Baltimore in the early 1960s and provided Eskelin an introduction to standards from the Great American Songbook as well as inspiring an early interest in jazz music.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Ellery Eskelin height Not available right now. Ellery weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Ellery Eskelin Dating?

According to our records, Ellery Eskelin is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Ellery Eskelin’s is not dating anyone.

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Eskelin began touring Europe regularly with drummer Joey Baron’s group “Baron Down”, a trio including Baron, Eskelin and trombonist Steve Swell (and later trombonist Josh Roseman). Baron Down released three recordings: Tongue in Groove (1991), Raised Pleasure Dot (1993) and Crack Shot (1996). At this time Eskelin abandoned commercially oriented work in order to concentrate fully on his own projects and the music of like-minded colleagues. During a three-month period in 1991 he developed a solo saxophone concert program in complete musical isolation, opting not to perform or interact with any other musicians during this time. In addition to entirely revamping his approach to the saxophone the process proved to be a catalyst for musical ideas that Eskelin further developed and applied to his compositions for the group he formed in 1994, “Ellery Eskelin with Andrea Parkins and Jim Black”. This group, featuring Parkins on accordion and electronics and Black on percussion released “Jazz Trash” in 1995 and followed up with a dozen recordings over the ensuing decade and into the 2000s primarily for the Swiss-based Hat Hut label. In the liner notes to “One Great Day…” (the band’s second release) Eskelin explains that the fractured and sometimes incongruent nature of his experiences as a musician coming up in the 1970s and 1980s finally came together in a manner that made sense and could be expressed in a unified musical language with this ensemble. The group toured regularly in Europe, the U.S. and Canada and continues, having performed in Europe as recently as 2010.

Facts & Trivia

Ellery Ranked on the list of most popular Saxophonist. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Ellery Eskelin celebrates birthday on August 16 of every year.

During this time Eskelin also continued launching new projects of his own (leaning towards complete improvisation) such as “Vanishing Point”, a group- improvised recording from 2000 with Mat Maneri (viola), Erik Friedlander (cello), Mark Dresser (bass) and Matt Moran (vibraphone). An improvising trio of cellist Vincent Courtois, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and Eskelin was formed in 2002 and recorded “As Soon as Possible” in 2008.