William Lee Ellis plays roots music in its purest form. An acoustic master named after his godfather, legendary bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe, Ellis plays bluegrass, folk and blues in a straightforward, intimate way. His music is a throwback to the days before computers, before television, even before radio, when music was always live and personal.
I hadn’t heard of Ellis until Ghost Hymns came to my attention. But Ellis comes from a musical family. His father, Tony Ellis, played banjo with Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. He grew up in Tennessee (of course) and studied classical music at the University of Cincinnati, where he ran across the music of Piedmmont-style bluesman Rev. Gary Davis. Incorporating Davis’ fingerpicking style into his own playing, Ellis continued to record intermittently while earning a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology and eventually moving to Vermont, where he teaches at Saint Michael’s College.
If you’re like me – always looking for music that is honest and simple – Ellis’ Ghost Hymns is a great find. There are no face-melting guitar solos, yet the guitar work is masterful. Every song on the album is an original, except a few traditional tunes that Ellis has rearranged in his unique style, borrowing from a wide range of musical influences to create a really good, quirky album.
And forget about all the academic stuff. Impressive as his background is, his mastery of guitar is the draw for listeners of Ghost Hymns. Check it out. In the meantime, you can check out Ellis’ humble coffeehouse performance below.
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.