JJJJJerome Ellis: Aster of Ceremonies Saturday February 22, 2025 
Live At UCLA's Nimoy Theater 8pm

The Nimoy

“The New York experimental musician takes his own stutter as the starting point for an album that is both a theoretical investigation of speech dysfluency and a piece of resistance art.” —Pitchfork 

Explore the multifaceted world of JJJJJerome Ellis, a Grenadian-Jamaican-American artist whose work transcends traditional boundaries to probe the intersections of stuttering, justice, blackness, disabled speech, and divinity. Residing in Norfolk, Virginia, Ellis, through music, performance, writing, video, and photography, delves into themes of unknowing, improvisation, and the transfiguration of archival documents into contemplative soundscapes and music-video-poems. His debut album, The Clearing, acclaimed as “an astonishing, must-listen project” by The Guardian, coupled with a book, navigates the realms of music, disabled speech, and blackness, inviting listeners and readers into a metaphorical clearing of liberation and possibility.

Awarded a Fulbright Fellowship, a United States Artists Fellowship, and other prestigious accolades, Ellis's work has captivated audiences worldwide from the Venice Biennale to Lincoln Center. As part of James & Jerome, Ellis further explores translation and border crossing, cementing his role as a visionary in marrying sound and narrative. Discover the transformative power of Ellis's artistry, where every performance and piece becomes a unique exploration of silence, sound, and the richness of human experience.