Elliott Sharp's Terraplane

Elliott and I saw each other often over the years in downtown NYC before we ever spoke. I think we finally said hello for the first time while passing on the stairs at the Knitting Factory. Not long after that we met while we both were part of The Harry Smith Project of Hal Willner’s put on at St. Anne’s Church. He did a solo piece with Guitar and some throat singing - for me one of the stand outs of that show. We got to really speak for the first time there. Elliott asked me to come round to the Knitting Factory and sit in with his band Terraplane. I had a great time and really enjoyed improvising lyrics to his tunes. Elliott’s music is a pleasure to work with, often challenging, but never alienating. He allows me to find my place. Some of the tunes we played that night evolved into the tunes we recorded on “Blues For Next”. I was one of the featured guests, the others being Dean Bowman and Hubert Sumlin. The European tour we did for that recording was really powerful. That was nearly ten years ago. Thinking about it now, I don’t actually know if I am an actual member of Terraplane, or a perpetual guest.

When I first met Elliott in person, I had already seen him playing numerous times around New York City and caught him a few times in Europe when our tour paths aligned. I was and am a fan. Even then I had no clue how much music he was involved in. To me Elliott is without Genre. He just creates music. His musical voice is uniquely his, no matter what way he decides to put it out there. I have heard him lock into grooves with the best of them and dissect a melody into digits and regenerate them back with more soul. He is an impressive creative spirit with boundless energy.

Here are some photos from over the years.

Bright Moments,

Eric Mingus