Mark Turner | |
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Background information | |
Born | 10 November 1965 Fairborn, Ohio United States |
Genres | Jazz |
Occupations | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
Instruments | Saxophone, Clarinet |
Labels | Warner Bros., Fresh Sound, ECM |
Associated acts | Dave Holland Big Band, Gary Foster, Edward Simon |
Mark Turner (born November 10, 1965) is a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist with several recordings to his credit.
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Born in Fairborn, Ohio, and raised in Southern California, Turner originally intended to become a commercial artist. In elementary school he played the clarinet, followed by the alto and tenor saxophones in high school. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1990 before moving to New York. Turner worked at Tower Records in New York City for an extended period before working full time as a jazz musician.
In early November 2008 Turner injured two fingers on one of his hands with a power saw, but as of late February 2009 (after a rapid recovery of four months) was performing again with the Edward Simon Quartet at the Village Vanguard.
Mark Turner's sound is reminiscent of that of Warne Marsh, in that he often produces a somewhat dry, woody tone. He also has elements of John Coltrane in his playing. Turner has mentioned both Marsh and Coltrane as influences, and has used elements of both players' styles in his music without resorting to mimicry.[1] Turner's range extends seamlessly into the high altissimo register. His improvised lines tend to be harmonically and rhythmically convoluted while maintaining melodic coherence. His compositions often make use of repeated patterns, odd-metered time signatures, intervallic leaps, and a selective use of space.
Mark Turner has regularly collaborated with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Larry Grenadier, and Jeff Ballard, and has formed various collectives that include these musicians (M.T.B. and prominently, FLY). He has also played with the influential Dave Holland Big Band. In 2003 Turner collaborated with alto saxophonist Gary Foster in a special concert billed as "Mark Turner and Friends".[2]Although Turner has recorded less than 10 albums under his name, he is a prolific sideman, playing on dozens of other jazz recordings going back to the early 90's.
With Ryan Kisor
With Jonny King
With Edward Simon
With Aaron Goldberg
With Jon Gordon
With George Colligan
With Seamus Blake
With Guillermo Klein
With Chris Cheek
With Lee Konitz
With Joshua Redman
With Matthias Lupri
With Kurt Rosenwinkel
With OAM trio
With Jaleel Shaw
With Omer Avital
With Billy Hart
With David Binney
With Enrico Rava
With Diego Barber
With Mikkel Ploug Group With Jochen Rueckert (Pirouet, 2011)
With Gilad Hekselman (Le Chant Du Monde, 2011)
With SF Jazz Collective (SFJAZZ, 2011)
Reviews:
G. Giddins: “Turner Classic Moves,” VV (14 April 1998), 118 G. M. Stern: “Airtime: Mark Turner: You Don’t Have to be Twenty Years Old to Succeed,” Windplayer, no.58 (1998), 10