“Unadorned except for his saxophone, Wellman uses repeated and carefully divided lines to vibrate split tones which are somehow both polyphonic and tonic. Using circular breathing he produces equivalent note clusters and glissandi that unroll as if his saxophone is a perpetual motion machine yet subtly vary in pitch, shading and emphasis.” – Ken Waxman (The Whole Note)
“Wellman has an incredible technique. Great souplesse, phrasing and change in dynamics. A very expressive communicator and composer/improviser of engaging solo pieces” – Dolf Mulder (Vital Weekly)
“…a sound experience that is by turns minimal or serial, reserved or dense to the point of breathlessness.” – Peter Hum (jazzblog.ca)
An active member of the Ottawa music scene since receiving his Bachelor of Music in 2001 from Carleton University where he studied saxophone with Rob Frayne, Linsey Wellman is known as a creative and spontaneous improvisor on the alto and soprano saxophones, the alto and standard flutes, and the bass clarinet. Ever adaptable, he has plied his trade with Sun Ra tribute Rakestar Arkestra, marching band Mike Essoudry’s Mash Potato Mashers, Gamelan Semara Winangun, calypso outfit Kobo Town, Punjabi folk/fusion project Galitcha, and he has accompanied silent films with the Mayfair Theatre House Band, all while taking part in countless improvised music and jazz ensembles. In 2007, he released an eponymous collaborative album with drummer Mike Essoudry, exploring a convergence of improvised and world musics. Along the way, he has worked with such as Rob Frayne, Jesse Stewart, Pierre-Yves Martel, Petr Cancura, Yves Lambert and Ellen McIlwaine. His latest project is a work for solo alto saxophone; he released the disc Ephemera: for solo saxophone in November of 2010.
Some concert highlights include the Ottawa, Guelph and Vancouver Jazz Festivals, the Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg Folk Festivals, Festival au Désert (Mali), the Théatre Mohammed V (Morocco), the House of World Cultures ( Berlin), the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival and WOMEX 2010 in Copenhagen.
He is co-founder and curator (along with trumpeter/electronic musician Craig Pedersen) of the Improvising Musicians of Ottawa/Outaouais (IMOO) concert series.