Mark Rapp Group At The Jazz Corner

Mark Rapp Group
The Jazz Corner
Hilton Head Island, SC
January 31, 2025

It was not a Tuesday and it was a full month before Ash Wednesday, the start of the Christian observance of Lent, but it felt like Mardi Gras at The Jazz Corner on Hilton Head Island. Colorful beads draped all the tables and a sousaphone oversaw the stage. The musicians readying to perform are some of the strongest proponents of New Orleans jazz in the nation and among the most talented to represent it.

The Mark Rapp took off vertically with the spirited New Orleans number, "Down by the Riverside," an African-American spiritual. Its roots go so far back as to precede the American Civil War. "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It," another popular traditional piece followed. Like children let loose on the playground, the band members agreed on a game they all wanted to play.

Rapp lead his quintet with vocalist Brittany Turnipseed, Mitch Butler on trombone—we call him "Doctor" 'round here—Nick Vlandis on piano, Todd Edmunds sousaphone, and Robert Britton Saunders on drums.

Trombonist, composer, arranger, and educator Mitch Butler matched Rapp's passion. Raising both the sass temperature and volume when they played together, Nick Vlandis moved in to lower both, creating the kind of understated presence on the piano those moments demanded. Drummer Sanders kept his strong connection with each of the band members throughout with his agile beats. Todd Edmunds is also a bassist. On sousaphone he ruled the stage both visually and acoustically; the instrument's bell amplified his movements as well as his lung power. "I try to stand still but I've just got to move," he shared later. Maybe Edmunds feared being a distraction but the effect contributed to the fun.

Then, like a Vertical Landing and Takeoff aircraft, the group hovered briefly and changed orientation, proving, as if proof were necessary, that this band could find the groove of whatever they decided to play. The combo delivered "Georgia State of Mind," and Disney's "Almost There," his preschooler's newest favorite. He merely hinted at the frequency with which he has played it for her. They closed the set with Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" and a reprise of "Down By the Riverside," for an altogether exhilarating performance. Ms. Turnipseed and Gentlemen, your soul, blues, and jazz roots are showing.

This was Turnipseed's first appearance at the Jazz Corner, but she was given a homecoming welcome, as if already a member of the JC family. Her every vocal, including Bill Withers' "Just the two of Us," created darts that hit the bulls-eye. A new name on the jazz stage, Turnipseed hails from South Carolina where she is nicknamed "Southern Songbird."

Rapp, founder and executive director of the ColaJazz Foundation in Columbia, South Carolina, elevates the capitol city as a go-to for jazz. Established in 2021, ColaJazz won the Governor Award as a leading non-profit, offering radio programming, festivals, concerts, school and community outreach, and summer camps. In just four years, ColaJazz has attracted a dependable list of major sponsors and fills a year-round calendar.

The trumpeter has released diverse CDs, including two Disney compilations, Volumes I and II of Everybody Wants to be a Cat. Alongside the likes of Roy Hargrove, Dave Brubeck, Esperanza Spalding, The Bad Plus and Joshua Redman, Rapp's performance of The Lion King's "Circle of Life" on Volume I is movie worthy. Rapp's celebrated 2009 debut release Token Tales earned him a spot as a "Top Emerging Trumpeter" in DownBeat magazine, sold out New York City's Blue Note and debuted at the famed Newport Jazz Festival. He has performed in jazz clubs and festivals around the world from Croatia, Brazil, Austria, Switzerland and back-to-back appearances at the 2017 and 2018 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Earlier, he had spent his graduate years in the Big Easy soaking up the culture, the music and all the good times he could. Rapp will soon present Fever: An Elvis Tribute Special —that should be no surprise when it comes to the man's versatility and broad-spectrum curiosity.

Meanwhile, The Jazz Corner celebrates Mardi Gras, AKA Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday every year.

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