Jazz Articles about Mark Masters

Mark Masters: Everything You Did

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
July 27, 2013

Bandleader/arranger Mark Masters has recorded a set of Steely Dan tunes with a big band, which can be set on the shelf next to his celebrated albums dedicated to the music of George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Dewey Redman. A Dan jazz album makes sense. It's clear from the rock band's '70s albums that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker warmly loved jazz: the intro to their hit “Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is lifted directly from pianist Horace Silver's “Song ...

Mark Masters Ensemble: Ellington Saxophone Encounters

by Greg Simmons
January 31, 2013

It could be argued that the core of bandleader Duke Ellington's wonderful textural sound was the way he harmonized his reed section, with great woody chords and lush polyphonic melodies. That reed section, with the great Johnny Hodges leading on alto, stalwarts like Paul Gonsalves on tenor and Harry Carney on baritone, as well as shorter-term itinerants like the incomparable tenor player Ben Webster, was one of the most well-oiled machines in jazz history. It was glorious. So ...

Mark Masters Ensemble: Ellington Saxophone Encounters

by Edward Blanco
September 6, 2012

Longtime big band arranger/bandleader Mark Masters happens to be President of the Pasadena, CA-based non-profit American Jazz Institute (AJI), while baritone saxophonist great Gary Smulyan sits on its Advisory Board. Together, the two have often joined forces on musical projects intended to foster and promote jazz; Ellington Saxophone Encounters is another one of their AJI collaborations, this time with the nine-piece Mark Masters Ensemble supplying the musical muscle.Don't be misled by the title of the album, this is ...

Mark Masters Ensemble: Ellington Saxophone Encounters

by Dan Bilawsky
August 30, 2012

Countless albums have been made with the sole intention of honoring the great Duke Ellington by highlighting his personality, piano skills and pile of hits, but they don't tell the whole story; part of his legacy rests with the men who brought his music to life. The individuals who filled out the roster in Ellington's illustrious band earned their own place in history by shaping the sound and identity of his group so, rather than tread on well-worn ground, arranger ...

Mark Masters Ensemble: Farewell Walter Dewey Redman

by Dan McClenaghan
November 26, 2008

It's hard to believe that Dewey Redman isn't still around when listening to Mark Masters Ensemble set, Farewell Walter Dewey Redman. Masters and the group--especially alto saxophonist Oliver Lake--capture the soul and sound of the unsung tenor titan on this marvelously inspired recording.Dewey Redman (1931-2006), the father of saxophonist Joshua Redman, is probably best known for his work with Ornette Coleman on albums like The Science Fiction Sessions (Columbia Records, 1972) and New York is Now (Blue Note ...

Mark Masters Ensemble: Porgy & Bess Redefined!

by George Harris
September 5, 2005

Well, they said it couldn't be done, but he did it. Arranger Mark Masters has breathed new and refreshing life into Gershwin's Porgy & Bess. Just when you thought Miles may have had the last word back in '61, Masters adds a touch of Mingus, a sprig of Kenton, and songs that you've heard a thousand times sound new and enticing.

As with any stage production, it sure helps to have the right cast, and Masters has a ...

Mark Masters Jazz Ensemble: Porgy & Bess Redefined

by Jack Bowers
May 6, 2005

In the seven decades since its completion, George Gershwin's landmark folk opera Porgy & Bess has been “redefined on a number of occasions by various jazz artists, perhaps most notably in 1959 by trumpeter Miles Davis with an orchestra conducted by arranger Gil Evans (a touchstone that was astutely reinterpreted only last year by Clark Terry with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble). Arranger Mark Masters now steps forward to take his shot, a well-aimed broadside that may not redefine Gershwin's groundbreaking ...