Review: John Ellis and Doublewide’s ‘Fireball’

Despite the name of woodwind specialist John Ellis’s Double Wide, suggesting a large ensemble, the group is a quintet, with slightly unusual instrumentation. The name reflects less the size of the group and more the breadth of sounds with Ellis (clarinet, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone) on the high end, and a robust bottom featuring sousaphonist Matt Perrine and trombonist Alan Ferber. Holding down the rhythm section are the versatile keyboardist Gary Versace (upright piano, organ, accordion, Fender Rhodes, and Wurlitzer) and drummer Jason Marsalis. On Fireball (Sunnyside, 2026), the group delivers a broad swath of colors, textures, and moods.

Both Perrine and Marsalis hail from New Orleans. While Ellis originally hails from North Carolina, he too has spent considerable time in the Crescent City.  As such, it should be perhaps unsurprising that New Orleanian culture is built into Fireball, with a distinct second line sound to many of its tracks. The centrality of tuba also makes evident how Ellis formed the band to center around Perrine. You’re not likely to hear more tuba solos than you do here unless you are listening to the likes of Theon Cross or NOLA brass bands. That tie to the second line also gives another meaning to the term ‘double wide,’

Fireball’s digestible running time of thirty-seven minutes is full of both danceable, playful fare and reflective pieces. The opening “Wash Ya Mouth Out,” named after a southern colloquialism, finds Perrine soloing right after the head. Ellis, Ferber, and Perrine soon engage in vigorously playful dialogue before yielding briefly to Versace on the upright piano. Tempo recedes on “Top Down,” with Ellis’s clarinet and Versace’s Rhodes engaging in Brazilian-tinged melodies. It is one of the few pieces where Perrine is not in the forefront and instead providing the bassline.  In contrast, Perrine leads the ensemble on the offbeat, rollicking blues of  “Clown Car,” delivering a NOLA brass band feel, punctuated with the leader’s soprano on the high end.  

“The Whistler” combines rhythmic elements from both New Orleans and Brazil. The high end floats along behind Ellis’s clarinet while the song becomes unique via Marsalis’s whistling, which mirrors Versace’s piano solo. The quick-tempo title track is a Mexican standoff of sorts with the soprano sax and accordion pitted against the tuba and the trombone. The airy, moving ballad “Crocodile Tears” emanates a church-like feel with Versace doubling on organ and piano with a myriad of tones, both upper and lower registers, wafting through.  Solemnity quickly morphs to the light-hearted on “Meat Pie,” another tune featuring Perrine’s impressive tuba playing in the intro and outro, as well as fine soloing from the rest of the ensemble.  Interestingly, given the energy in Double Wide’s playing, the album ends reflectively on the seven-minute-plus “From the Ashes.” For it, Marsalis creates a drum loop that the other musicians play over. Among the album’s eight pieces, this one leaves the most room for improvisation, giving space for the musicians react to one another and create a mosaic of sound.  

Exuberant, thoughtful, and remarkably differentiated from most jazz quintet sounds, John Ellis & Double Wide’s Fireball is well worth repeat listens.  

‘Fireball’ will be released on January 23, 2026 on Sunnyside Records. It can be purchased on Bandcamp.

Photo credit: Emra Islek