Jazz Articles about Mark Elf

Mark Elf: Glad to be Back

by C. Michael Bailey
August 6, 2004

New York City guitarist Mark Elf has been missing in action for the past year. Mr. Elf spent the majority of 2003 and 2004 recovering from not one but two life-threatening health conditions. Now, convalesced and back on his feet, he offers us an expression of gratitude in Glad to be Back. Always in the company of great musicians, Mr. Elf recruits the stellar rhythm section of pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Lewis Nash to join him ...

Mark Elf: The Eternal Triangle

by AAJ Staff
January 20, 2003

Backed by an old school who’s who which includes Ray Drummond, Jimmy Heath, Ben Riley and Hank Jones, guitarist Mark Elf presents a simple album rich in its simplicity.

The title opener is a mellow cascade into a be-boppy bay where the water's fine and everyone's in the pool. Though Elf does take a solo, it is playful and pleasant and breaks the piece nicely. And it is also not the only spotlight segment of the song. In fact, pretty ...

Mark Elf: Over the Airwaves

by AAJ Staff
January 20, 2003

On this “guitar effort," jazz strummer Mark Elf picks and frets his way to a nearly unbreakable dozen of standards and original tributes. Tipping his trademark cap to the men and stations which make jazz radio and great, Elf also honors the songwriters who have given it musical sustenance as well. “On at KLON" is as bright and paced as a typical day in LA. “The Cookie Maker" cuts around on a tasty musical sugar high, occasionally becoming almost too ...

Mark Elf: New York Cats

by AAJ Staff
January 20, 2003

As is his way, guitarist Mark Elf uses his 1998 trio album New York Cats as an opportunity to pick from among the best in music and musicians to create an album of feline felicity. Known for corralling members of major label stables on past recordings, Elf works his magic this time with the help of regular live bandmates bassist Jay Leonhart (Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney) and drummer Dennis Mackrel (Slide Hampton, Joe Williams, Count Basie). Together, the trio combine ...

Mark Elf: A Minor Scramble

by AAJ Staff
January 20, 2003

Though comfortably laden with familiar pages from the Great American Songbook, A Minor Scramble also shines in its musical variety. In the middle of the well-handled "After You’ve Gone," guitarist Mark Elf leads a sudden but surprisingly fluid transition from a finger-flying set-up to a mellow, swinging conclusion. Adding to the spice of the album is the inclusion of such pieces as the salsad Samba "Tico Tico" and a trio of original tracks. The tempos are also well mixed (or ...

Mark Elf: Dream Steppin'

by Craig W. Hurst
August 1, 2002

Evidence of Mark Elf's high level of musical craftsmanship is encapsulated in his latest offering Dream Steppin'. In a pared down, clean, uncluttered upbeat-sounding trio setting, Elf combines his compositional talents along with his interpretations of standards by Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, and Richard Rogers to produce 12 individual musical selections. One segment of an alternate take of is also offered in the 59 minutes 39 seconds of music on the CD.

Elf ...

Mark Elf: Dream Steppin

by Andrey Henkin
June 22, 2002

Many musicians, who begin their careers in pro-gressive territories, eventually settle down into tra-ditionalism. The word “settle" implies the end of any creativity, and is unfortunately often accurate. Mark Elf's new album Dream Steppin’ has successful-ly avoided this pitfall, adding an inspired and energetic volume to the straight jazz guitar oeuvre. Elf has come years and miles since his begin-nings in the early 70's with the likes of Heiner Stadler and Grachan Moncur. Yet this progression, that has been happening ...