Mark Turner (musician)


Mark Turner is an American jazz saxophonist.

Biography

Born in Fairborn, Ohio, and raised in the small Southern California town of Palos Verdes Estates, 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 attended California State University, Long Beach in the 1980s and then transferred to and 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 he was performing again with the Edward Simon Quartet at the Village Vanguard.
He is married to the psychiatrist and anthropologist, Dr. Helena Hansen.

Style and influences

Turner's sound is reminiscent of that of Warne Marsh, but 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. Turner's range extends into the high altissimo register. His improvised lines tend to span several octaves and contain great harmonic and rhythmic complexity. His compositions often make use of repeated patterns, odd-metered time signatures, and intervallic leaps.
Turner claims that his music is "unfolding like a narrative". Consequently, his 2014 album Lathe of Heaven is named after Ursula K. Le Guin's novel of the same title which is based on the idea of a world where the nature of reality keeps shifting.

Musical associations

In September 2014, Turner released his first album as a leader since 2001 on ECM Records; it features trumpeter Avishai Cohen, bassist Joe Martin, and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Turner is a member of the trio Fly, which includes himself, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Jeff Ballard. He also appears in guitarist Gilad Hekselman's Quartet, and drummer Billy Hart's Quartet. Turner has recorded extensively with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, saxophonist David Binney, and pianist Aaron Goldberg, among others.
Turner, the ultimate jazz sideman, has played or collaborated with more than 45 jazz bands. In 2018 and 2019 alone he has played on eight different jazz albums as a sideman or collaborator.

DiscographyLyles, R. https://jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Turner/turner-disc.php Mark Turner Discography, accessed May 7, 2019

As Leader

With Fly
With Ryan Kisor
With Gary Foster
With Jonny King
With MTB
With Perico Sambeat
With Jimmy Smith
With Edward Simon
With Jon Gordon
With George Colligan
With Seamus Blake
With Guillermo Klein
With Chris Cheek
With Aaron Goldberg
With Lee Konitz
With Joshua Redman
With Kurt Rosenwinkel
With Matthias Lupri
With OAM Trio
With Chris Wiesendanger
With Jaleel Shaw
Emmanuel Vaughan Lee
With Omer Avital
With Billy Hart
With David Binney
With Mikkel Ploug
With Ferenc Nemeth
With Samo Salamon
With Baptiste Trotignon
With Enrico Rava
With Diego Barber
With Jochen Rueckert
With Gilad Hekselman
With Jason Palmer
With SFJAZZ Collective
With Jonathan Blake
With Ben van Gelder
With Stefano Bollani
With Yelena Eckemoff
Matt Brewer
With Tom Harrell
With James Moody and Larry Goldings
Jorge Rossy
With Matt Penman
With Alex Koo
With Joe Martin
With Kevin Hays
With Ethan Iverson