Label: ECM Records, 2022

Personnel - Mark Turner: tenor saxophone; Jason Palmer: trumpet; Joe Martin: bass; Jonathan Pinson: drums.

With Return From the Stars, the resourceful saxophonist Mark Turner returns to his own quartet, eight years after Lathe of Heaven (ECM, 2014). There were two alterations in the lineup, with the young trumpeter Jason Palmer replacing Avishai Cohen and the drummer Jonathan Pinson grabbing the chair that belonged to Marcus Gilmore. Rounding out the group is bassist Joe Martin, who remains as one of the rhythm section’s pillars.

Eschewing any type of conformism in his compositional strategy, the bandleader’s employment of a chord-less ensemble taps into his musical intentions. He named the album, and its magnificent opening track, after Stanislav Lem’s sci-fi novel of the same name, whose topics fall into social alienation and dystopia. The thematically strong title cut has saxophone and trumpet working in conjunction, and launches the improvisations with Martin, who never lets go of the groove. After him, working over blowing changes in triple meter, there is a scintillating dialogue between Turner and Palmer. The saxist, vibrant in tone, blows with an extraordinary sense of phrasing, while the trumpeter articulates notes with admirable precision.

A couple of cuts imply some discontentment with the current state of the world. One example is “It’s Not Alright With Me”, where inventive tenor diagonals cut across several choruses in full force. “Unacceptable” is another one, which, after being accented with inspired phrases in the head, shows horn-driven discipline during the 13-beat cycle (the same that gets the piece off the ground) that separates Turner’s combustible solo from the patiently built narrative of Palmer.

Following the intriguing Shorter-esque “Terminus”, which fluidly shifts between moods, texture and tempo, there’s the brightly shine of “Bridgetown”, a nearly anthemic Afro-Caribbean-flavored piece delivered with a pompous glory. “Nigeria II” is an uptempo bop-inflected workout that swings and dances with unhesitant, nimble steps, whereas “Waste Land” sounds like a chamber piece in which the ensemble interacts with a spacey kinship. The intensity swells underneath via Pinson’s chop-infused drumming, which is considerably mitigated during the sculptural “Lincoln Heights”, a temperate 3/4 consolidation of jazz and pop/rock. Rest assured that all eight pieces on this album reveal high levels of musicianship, maturity and chemistry.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Terminus ► 05 - Nigeria II ► 07 - Unacceptable

Label: ECM, 2018

Personnel - Mark Turner: tenor saxophone; Ethan Iverson: piano.

Tenorist Mark Turner and pianist Ethan Iverson, two resplendent titans of the current jazz scene, join forces for an intimate outing. Temporary Kings aggregates nine compositions - six by Iverson, two by Turner and one by Warne Marsh - that, besides bristling with competence, allow for space, reflection, and expansion. Ten years after meeting for the first time in New York, the two distinguished players and members of the Billy Hart Quartet release their first duo album on the ECM label, opening with the introspective wistfulness of Iverson’s “Lugano”, whose melodic traits recall “Autumn in New York”. Turner’s ethereal contribution tints everything with a celestial blue, while Iverson, a marvelous accompanist, creates intriguing textures, contributing for the permeation of yellow sun rays through the scattered soft clouds. The title refers to the Swiss city where the album was recorded.

The title track offers great contrapuntal sections with folk-like melodies running on top of stunning chords colored with contrasting tonalities. Iverson’s initially spacious solitary incursion is transformed in patterns of pointillistic notes as soon as Turner starts to explore unanticipated melodic trajectories, which continue in a brisker way on the luminous “Turner’s Chamber of Unlikely Delights”. Composed by Iverson, this chamber piece doesn’t hide jazz, classical, and even pop influences, evoking at times the successful aesthetic of Marsh/Tristano. However, a bona fide tribute to these two musicians arrives with a strong swinging feel on Marsh’s “Dixie’s Dilemma”, a bop-derived study with the same harmonic progression of “All The Things You Are”, frank bluesy lines, and propelled by Iverson’s nimble bass conduction on the left side.

The game of timbres becomes particularly noticeable on the final section of “Unclaimed Freight”, a blues with a scent of third stream, whose theme blossoms through repetitive phrases expressed in unison.

Delivered with a cool, quiet precision, “Yesterday’s Bouquet” is a lyrical ballad that sounds more ambiguous than Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”, despite some similarities between them. Iverson digs it alone, finding rich sonic palettes within an interesting arrangement.

Turner’s “Myron’s World” kicks off with a radiating saxophone introduction that shines further with the emergence of the pianist’s intuitive steps. Here, the mood comes closer to the snug post-bop of Kenny Wheeler/John Taylor, in a mix of charm and complexity.

The 3/4 melancholy of “Seven Points” is another product of Turner’s mind, closing out the record with a dreamy ambiance, equally graceful and intriguing.

Temporary Kings is a guileless jazz session whose bi-directional moves converge and diverge with an astounding conviction.