Blu Skylight Archive

The Mark MASTERS Ensemble – Blue Skylight – Capri 

by Audiophile Audition | Feb 11, 2017 | Jazz CD Reviews

The Mark MASTERS Ensemble – Blue Skylight – Capri 74143-2, 48:33  (2/17/17)  ****½: (Gary Foster; alto sax/ Jerry Pinter; tenor and soprano sax/ Gene Cipriano; tenor sax/ Adam Schroeder; baritone sax/ Ron Stout; trumpet/ Les Benedict; trombone/ Ed Czach; piano/ Putter Smith; doublebass/ Kendall Kay; drums ) Outstanding small concert-band arrangements of Monk and Mulligan compositions played by the American Jazz Institute house band.  Mark Masters is the president of the American Jazz Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting jazz. The Pasadena-based group maintains an orchestra as well, featuring veteran West Coast players. Perhaps their most vital work, though, is related to archiving the rich lore of jazz composition and promoting new works for performance. What we have in this recording is a collection of tunes by Monk and Mulligan, arranged by Mark Masters himself, and performed by an ensemble under his name. In effect these tunes, are newly-realized pieces rather than gussied up standards. However, plenty of the musical character of the original composers comes through as well, even as the charts are reassembled. On the opening track, Monk, Bunk, and Vice Versa, a lesser known Mingus tune, the head is subjected to polyphonic elaboration. It stops just short […]