Moppa Elliott: Composer, Producer, Bassist

“From the first seconds of the Ornette-meets-Lacy opening salvo ”Elliott Mills”, Elliott
and his quartet shoot sparks. Shea’s drums bustle, Elliott pulses mightily, and Irabagon’s
soprano twists like a snake fighting its charmer...”
“Referencing a sense of humor that reminds, at times, of the madcap quirkiness of the Dutch, this is an exciting debut that announces a foursome worth watching,”
-- One Final Note, May 2005

“Moppa Elliott is a young bassist leading a young, talented band. As such, the
music, both the written and improvised parts, is misleadingly mature. Whether
it’s strong training and influences or just plain old giftedness I can’t say, but
it’s heartwarming to see such talent continue to flow into jazz...”
-- All About Jazz, New York, May 2005

Who Is Moppa?

…Thoroughly entertaining and in-your-face, the band merges a history of jazz into a modernized contempo format that comes right at you like a bullet train. They shift the pulse and overall scope either on a nanoseconds notice or seamlessly bridge the gap between trad jazz with cartoon-ish like candor. Top-notch soloing abounds throughout, and for the most part, the band doesn’t come up for air. At times, brash, loud and irrefutably witty, the musicians forge a bond within the jazz mainstream while expounding upon familiar terrain by morphing the old with the new. But don’t expect to hear anything that hints at easy listening. These folks go for the proverbial jugular. And it’s a curiously interesting affair that stands out like a wayward child among the more conventional USA-based jazz product…
- Glen Astarita, ejazznews.com.

Embracing post-modernism's all-inclusive, hyper-speed aesthetic, Elliott and company use their encyclopedic knowledge of genres and styles to enrich their statements in intersecting layers, avoiding the rote jump cut clichés of their fore bearers.
One of the most infectiously vivacious releases of the year, Shamokin!!! reveals a new wrinkle in the tradition. Historically aware and virtuosic, the wily Mostly Other People Do The Killing is an ensemble to watch.
-Troy Collins, allaboutjazz.com

…MOPDtK accompany their name with a logo depicting a catastrophic gunshot wound to the head. The music is a keen analogue as minds are sure to be blown by the near-masterpiece they’ve come up with here.
– Derek Taylor, Bagatellen.com

…Musicians now are generally known for doing their own thing, but bassist Moppa Elliott’s tight quartet Mostly Other People Do the Killing shows that expectations are made to be defied. The band members’ pedigree includes avant-rock and European-style free improv, but they play yesterday’s postbop—a form that predates their births—like there’s no tomorrow….Daresay, this band swings.
-Kurt Gottschalk, Time Out New York

…Mostly Other People do the Killing is a relentless and compulsive quest to reach new horizons while reverence for the past and tradition. However, without shackles and freedom.
(translated from Spanish)

“...His music has a touch of rollicking Jazz history in its makeup suggested by the bright refrains from trumpeter Evans and saxophonist Irabagon plus his quirky compositional form. While the music is thoroughly modern, it references the heyday of New Orleans-style barn-burners and several other areas. Evans and Irabagon... thread free passages cleverly into the traditional sounds of the earlier genres. Elliott adds the glue to keep the songs - all his compositions - in tight confinement. He lays down vibrant rhythms around which the horns jostle and cajole taking the pieces to riotous levels while maintaining reference points to earlier periods to depict the illustrious evolution of jazz. The recording sustains an upbeat demeanor that belies its serious- sounding title. Elliott prides himself on crossing lines, breaking rules, and alternating preconceptions. He runs through Honky- Tonk segments only to dissolve the notion with swing elements that grow into freely improvised passages. An element of comedy also pervades the set. Impressions of the approach taken by noted Dutch ensembles continually surface, spurred by contributions from glowing reeds and blustery brass. Elliott guides the band into continually changing situations while sustaining, with drummer Shea, the rhythmic content nestled at the core of this happy outing. Elliott is not making light of the contributions of music’s forerunners. He simply finds pleasure in taking the deviant course not prescribed by convention…”
- Cadence Magazine, July 2005