Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mark McKnight: Do or Die

220

Mark McKnight: Do or Die

By

View read count
Track review of "Bewitched"

Mark McKnight: Do or Die
The artwork of Mark McKnight's Do Or Die depicts scenes from a chase—an escapee fleeing his assailants to the top of building, before making the decision to jump or not. But this action adventure implication is only one aspect to the guitarist's impressive sophomore release which encompasses progressive music in the vein of fret-board wizards Kurt Rosenwinkel and Nir Felder. Equally convincing is McNight's handling of Rodgers and Hart's popular show tune, "Bewitched," originally titled "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," from the 1940 musical, Pal Joey.

The question of why a 1940's American Songbook classic was chosen remains a mystery, but the more important answer is heard in McKnight and his group's superb handling of the source material. The song's pace and phrasing are left intact, with minimal liberties taken. The mood is still one of romance and wonder, suffused with soft ruminations from organist Ross Stanley, workmanship accents by drummer James Maddren, and gorgeous explorations of the theme by McKnight and saxophonist Seamus Blake, who trade with fluidness, intensity and feeling. Both soloists' voices are richly drawn: McKnight, in particular, creating a canopy of thought-provoking and emotive mood.

This ballad has always been enchanting, but this group adds or takes nothing from it, other than to inject its own identity into a fine interpretation.

Track Listing

Do or Die; Pieces; Nightcap; Bewitched (Intro); Bewitched; Tease; Contemplate; (We'll) Just Disappear.

Personnel

Mark McKnight: guitar; Seamus Blake: tenor saxophone; Ross Stanley: organ; James Maddren: drums.

Album information

Title: Do Or Die | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Whirlwind Recordings Ltd

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.