Despite Basquiat's frequent references to jazz, bassist/composer/painter Lisle Ellis is the first in the jazz world to create an album-length homage to the painter's life and work...The point of the project is as a springboard, something to be revisited time and again as Ellis solidifies the relationship between the painter's immense oeuvre and his own work.

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The diversity held throughout this CD is astonishing, disarming, and unmistakably truthful, as testament to the fortitude of Ellis, a high-water mark for his career, and a marvelous statement as to how different elements of art can be made into startling music.

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With help from such stellar musical pals as saxophonist Oliver Lake, flutist Holly Hofmann and pianistMike Wofford, erstwhile San Diego bassist and electronic musician Lisle Ellis pays tribute to the late New York painter his album is named after. Blessed …

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The best thing about the recording is the four pieces [ranging from 9 minutes to just over 40 minutes] are drawn out improvisations. Each of the players is permitted ample room to stretch out and show off their plentiful skills.

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It is difficult in these days of post-everything to claim a form as new; that said Lisle Ellis' homage to the tragically deceased visual artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is a rollercoaster of a listen, challenging and accessible in a disarmingly direct way...It's an exciting listen, drawing heavily on several musical genres and falling neatly into none. It's far removed from what Basquiat might call "Samo Samo."

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