Moppa Elliott brings wild jazz back to Philadelphia

When Moppa Elliott plays at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Atonement on Wednesday, Feb. 21, the show is a homecoming for him and members of his ensemble.

Elliott is a Scranton, Pennsylvania native, and the bassist and composer had access to local, dynamic jazz teachers (legends Dave Liebman and Steve Coleman) and spent his formative gigging years in Philadelphia, playing often with fellow improvisational giant, pianist Orrin Evans at Chris’ Jazz Café.

“That time was really important in terms of motivating me to write more and play more,” said Elliott. Philly’s inspiration lingered enough that his new album, ‘Disasters Vol. 2’, features tracks named for local landmarks such as ‘Cobbs Creek,’ ‘Powelton’ and ‘Marcus Hook.’

One thing that has made Elliott, and his Mostly Other People Do the Killing ensemble — as well as his two offshoot groups Advancing on a Wild Pitch and Acceleration Due to Gravity — so magnetic is their devotion to creating free jazz that is wild, without losing the element of heritage.

“MOPDtK has always been about playing living-breathing Jazz, or Black-American music, without being boxed-in by certain strict performance practices, be that traditional common-practice styles of the late 1950s and early 60s (like Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue’), free jazz from the mid-60s, or the experimental fusion of the 70s or whatever,” said Elliott. “MOPDtK has always used all options available from the most “inside” playing to the most sonically experimental, and that has continued up to ‘Disasters Vol. 1.’”

What makes 2024 records ‘Disasters Vol. 2’ and ‘Jonestown’ uniquely bold — save their different groups of musicians — is how each album shifts time, space and tradition in their recording. To that end, there is the “steady, predictable” 50s-era jazz of Advancing on a Wild Pitch and the complex, notated compositions of Acceleration Due to Gravity.

“If I write something really specific in a MOPDtK tune, there’s a zero-percent chance of ever hearing it played exactly the way it is written, so I formed a new band to explore the kinds of things I can’t write for MOPDtK,” Elliot said with a laugh.

In particular, the Acceleration Due to Gravity album is fascinatingly ominous in its use of hip hop-like loops and repetitive phrases, borrowing certain aspects of rap’s production techniques.

“Like artists such as DJ Premiere, J Dilla, MF Doom, Madlib, Danger Mouse… but I have always wanted the possibility of breaking away from the confines of computer-controlled, digital loops, with more free jazz in there… The Roots come close to that sometimes,” said Elliot of such innovation. “Since we are live musicians, I can write in a way that each time the loop repeats, something is slightly different, so that there are very few exact repetitions, plus there’s layers of improvisation on top.”

As for the Advancing on a Wild Pitch record and its Philly-related tracks, Elliott pulled in Charles Evans.

“Charles and I have known each other since we were 4-years-old in the same tiny town in Pennsylvania, so we’ve had conversations over the last 40 years,” stated Elliott. “He’s one of the great baritone saxophone players in history and his sound is amazing, as is his straight-ahead jazz playing… AoaWP exists partially so that I can hear Charlie play swing over standard chord progressions.”

Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Advancing on a Wild Pitch and the Watson/Julius Masti Duo will perform at Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Atonement, 1542 East Montgomery Avenue, on Wednesday. Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. For information and tickets, visit  firemuseumpresents.com/upcoming/mostly-other-people-do-the-killing-advancing-on-a-wild-pitch-and-watson