Liberty Ellman is a jazz guitarist who was born in London and raised in the United States. In the early 1980s, his family moved to California, where he began developing his musical career. During the 1990s, Ellman was associated with the M-Base scene in San Francisco, collaborating with artists such as Vijay Iyer, Steve Coleman, Miya Masaoka, and others, and performing with hip hop and theatrical projects. He released his debut album, Orthodoxy, on Red Giant Records in 1997 and returned to New York City the following year. Over his career, Ellman has performed and recorded with notable musicians including Ben Goldberg, Joe Lovano, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Wadada Leo Smith, and is a longstanding member of Henry Threadgill's ensemble Zooid. In 2016, he was voted No. 1 Rising Star guitarist in the DownBeat Critics’ Poll.
