A Cornucopia of Tenor Saxophonist Mark Turner

Whether he’s playing in the middle, on the edge, or is just flying out on his own, veteran tenor saxophonist Mark Turner reconfirms on these three new releases that he is still finding his own way.

Billy Hart Quartet – Just (ECM)

Steve Lehman Trio + Mark Turner – The Music of Anthony Braxton (PI Recordings)

Mark Turner – We Raise Them To Lift Their Heads (Loveland Music)

Tenor saxophonist Mark Turner (b. 1965), a player who often, though not always, leans toward a warm and thoughtful middle ground in his work, plays a major role on three new releases.

Has it been almost five years since the pandemic led us waist-deep into streaming? Thank heavens that the legendary Village Vanguard in NYC started running some live-streamed concerts back then. I had the pleasure of reviewing one of the first such performances for The Arts Fuse.  It featured the Billy Hart Quartet, a comfortably engaging group that can blow a little, but enjoys venturing into subtler interactions even more.

Now, the seasoned foursome, led by octogenarian drummer Hart and including pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Ben Street, and Turner has released Just, which was recorded more than three years ago (!) for ECM.  The delay inevitably raises questions regarding the album’s quality. But a quick listen reassures: this is a finely crafted – albeit more tastefully subdued than pyrotechnical —  session of contemporary small combo jazz.

Iverson has four compositions on Just, Turner and Hart three apiece. The pianist exhibits his skills at genre-hopping with impressive stylistic aplomb.  From Latin lyricism (“Showdown”) and fleet bop energizers (“Aviation”), to Ellingtonian meanderings (“Chamber Music”), and a blues workout (“South Hampton”), he travels distances with ease, welcoming moments of musical excellence from the others as he executes his own quiet shadings.

Hart’s pieces (some reimagined older tunes) visit netherworlds (“Layla Joy”), a mysterious dance (“Just”), and spiritual convolutions (“Naaj”).  His drumming often evolves from dainty dabs to push-pull fierceness.

Turner, as he often does, mixes a cooler, rounded-off appeal with just enough intellectual bite to fascinate.  He never quite breaks out, but he does dig deep on his “Billy’s Waltz”. He takes some opportunities, to a degree, to probe his limits, as on his “Bo Brussels.”

The final cut on the Hart disc is Turner’s “Top of the Middle,” a piece that brings the quartet’s strengths to a head via some uptempo swing that makes you want to hear more from that part of their repertoire.

The energy level is much, much higher on The Music of Anthony Braxton, the new release by the Steve Lehman Trio (Damion Reid on drums, Matt Brewer on bass, Lehman on alto sax) with guest Mark Turner on tenor sax.

A mentor and former band leader for Lehman, Braxton remains a somewhat mysterious, but unarguably monumental, figure on the adventurous end of the jazz spectrum.  This fervid live recording tries hard, and mostly succeeds, in capturing the revved-up fizz of the music made by this admired composer/multi-instrumentalist/educator, who turns 80 this year.

Hyper intensity mixes with a sort of cool detachment to form a compelling whole. Braxton often references the “school” of music led by Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh, and a few others. But the overall vibe here is now, a quicksilver gathering of sounds smooth and jagged.

“40a” and “40b,” are, to my mind, the best Braxton exercises on the disc. The tracks feature perky, see-saw horn lines that gallop above a generally settled rhythmic flow.  The combined “23c” & 23g” pay homage to the jauntiness of early jazz. Here Lehman and Turner interlace intricacy with rapid-fire runs.

A version of Thelonious Monk’s “Trinkle Tinkle” combines searching and researching (a Braxtonesque specialty). The classic work is respectfully taken apart, new-fangled pleasures discovered in the wayward process of deconstruction.

A late arrival at my desk: the first release of some Turner solo performances recorded during studio sessions for a documentary called Music For Black Pigeons.  Titled We Raise Them To Lift Their Heads, the disc features compositions by Turner friend and producer Jakob Bro along with some Turner originals and a selection (hello, again) from Monk.

The Turner originals are aptly titled “Slow” and “Fast”, which suggests they are formal exercises. But, adapt your ear to the naked presence of Turner’s solo horn and the rewards are ample: the contours of his lyricism and thoughtful drive come into welcome focus.  In his comments on the album, Bro notes Turner is “searching for new paths in the music. Always.” There are familiar references here, especially from the mid-20th century harmonic world, but there’s also a sense that Bro is right. Turner is determined to keep moving on, with that vocabulary tucked in his back pocket.

The Monk piece, “Mysterioso,” chugs along with its eccentricities intact, though the track is tinged with invigorating daubs of gentle coloration by Turner.  The Bro compositions, “Bella Vista,” “Red Hook,” and “Red Hook (Variation)” explore melancholy, with the latter tune particularly affecting.

Whether he’s playing in the middle, on the edge, or is just flying out on his own, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner reconfirms on these three new releases that he is still finding his own way.

from https://artsfuse.org