The philosophy of Ellington Street started out as a motto: "Good enough to play for a living, but smart enough not to." Ellington Street started as a forum for local jazz composers that did something other than music for a living - a place where composers could have their material played live by other musicians. Eventually, Ellington Street coalesced into a solid core of 4 musicians forming the basis of our sound and style - Latin jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz, acid jazz and be-bop.