Mark Watkins: FOUR + Six

We had out of nowhere, we had straight outta Compton. Here comes straight out of Brigham Young University, Idaho, where saxophone quartet FOUR leader Mark Watkins has been director of jazz studies since 1999. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints may not the most abundant source of high-grade jazz—one assumes that Watkins is a member—but FOUR + Six proves it can be. Who would have thunk it? But jazz is a broad church and the album is proof that preconceptions have no place when approaching it.

FOUR + Six is the quartet's sixth album and on it, as the title suggests, the lineup is augmented to become a little big band. Watkins (soprano and tenor saxophones), Ray Smith (alto saxophone), Sandon Mayhew (tenor saxophone) and Jon Gudmundson (baritone saxophone} are joined by trumpeter Derrick Gardner (Count Basie and Harry Connick Jr bands), trombonist Vincent Gardner (Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra), guitarist Corey Christiansen, pianist Justin Nielsen, bassist Braun Khan and drummer Kobie Watkins (eight years on the road with Sonny Rollins). Class acts all of them.

All the tunes are Watkins originals and, boy, do they ring the changes. There is bop, there is modal, there is third stream, there is Latin, there is sumptuous balladry, there is New Orleans marching band. And it all hangs together thanks to Watkins' arrangements. The ensemble work is precise, the soloists concise and memorable. FOUR + Six is, in fact, a gem.

It is also a remarkable personal achievement. Watkins was born partially blind and by 2020 had lost all vision. He writes that, wanting to maintain his independence, he struggled to complete parts of his job, until one day a colleague said: "'You have to let people help you.' It changed my outlook, and I moved forward." With the help of two of his students Watkins was able to put down the arrangements for FOUR + Six. Give thanks.

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