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Confronting the Questions: Race, Anonymity, and the American Experience
by David Bixler
In the early 1900s, James Weldon Johnson explored the complex life of a bi-racial man who chose to disappear into white society in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Now, saxophonist Mark Turner uses this powerful novel as the foundation for his latest project. Join us as we listen to and discuss Turner's powerful compositions--a musical meditation on race, anonymity, and heritage--performed by his stellar quintet featuring Jason Palmer, David Virelles, Matt Brewer, and Nasheet Waits. Discover how this music ...
Continue ReadingMark Turner: Jazz and Race-He Tells It Like It Is
by Stephen Braunginn
World-renowned tenor saxophonist Mark Turner turns his attention to a provocative subject, directly related to a dynamic novel by civil rights activist, poet and novelist, James Weldon Johnson. Turner's latest project, Reflections On: An Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is the main subject of this conversation on Strictly Jazz Sounds. Turner goes into detail explaining how personal and historical contexts guided the music's thematic material. He describes the process of selecting relevant texts from the book to enhance the album's ...
Continue ReadingMark Turner: Reflections on: The Autobiography on an Ex-Colored Man
by Alberto Bazzurro
Una musica molto composta, predefinita, intenzionale, il tutto da allargare all'essenza stessa di opera nella sua accezione più onnicomprensiva, è quanto ci arriva da quest'ultimo lavoro del fresco sessantenne (il 10 novembre) tenorsassofonista dell'Ohio. Non c'è solo musica, in effetti, in quest'ora e un quarto appena scarsa di suoni e parole (narrate, non cantate), perché qui c'è di mezzo una storia, che è poi quella raccontata un secolo fa da James Weldon Johnson nel volume del titolo, oggetto delle odierne ...
Continue ReadingMark Turner, Perelman/Wooley, O.N.E. & Herb Robertson
by Maurice Hogue
Acclaimed saxophonist Mark Turner's new recording, Reflections on: The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, will attract attention not only for the brilliant playing, but also for the very forthright topic of a bi-racial man able to “pass" as white. Turner used as his motivation the semi-fictional account written by James Weldon Johnson, a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance &a key member of the Civil Rights movement, and the fact that passing as white happened in Turner's own family. Other ...
Continue ReadingUmbria Jazz 2025
by Libero Farnè
Umbria Jazz 2025 Varie sedi Perugia 11--20 luglio 2025 Basta scorrere il cartellone di Umbria Jazz 2025--soprattutto gli appuntamenti succedutisi al teatro Morlacchi, al Teatro Pavone e alla Sala Podiani della Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, ma anche le serate jazzistiche all'Arena Santa Giuliana--per rendersi conto di quanto quest'anno la programmazione fosse nutrita e di qualità elevata. Ho fatto il possibile per partecipare a quattro giorni del festival, sui dieci totali, il che permette di dare solo ...
Continue ReadingKurt Rosenwinkel: The Next Step Band (Live at Smalls, 1996)
by Vic Albani
Nel lontano 2001 la Verve pubblicò The Next Step, vale a dire il quarto album di Kurt Rosenwinkel in qualità di leader. Il disco del celebrato chitarrista di Filadelfia venne poi votato dalla rivista Jazz Times come “il disco jazz più importante e influente del XXI secolo," poiché, si legge “The Next Step ha mandato onde d'urto in una comunità musicale esigente e ossessionata dall'innovazione e ha definito un nuovo movimento e una nuova direzione per un'intera generazione di aspiranti ...
Continue ReadingSteve Lehman Trio and Mark Turner: The Music of Anthony Braxton
by Troy Dostert
Anthony Braxton has long had a reputation as being one of the most abstruse and forbidding musicians of the jazz avant-garde. Whether it is his impossibly esoteric notation systems, or the bizarre instrumentation he sometimes features on his recordings--his Composition No. 19 (For 100 Tubas) being just one example--one must tread carefully when engaging this unique musical mind. Hence it is a pleasure to encounter saxophonists Steve Lehman and Mark Turner joining forces for a tribute to the maverick composer. ...
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