One of the tricky things in making a jazz CD these days is figuring out how to appeal to not only a jazz audience but also how to appeal to listeners that may not have a true hard-core jazz background - and doing this without sacrificing musical quality. Let's face it, the masses will never be the bulk of the jazz CD buying public, but I believe some CDs are good enough that can be enjoyed by strict jazz listeners as well as those that would not normally purchase a CD in the jazz genre. Many jazz players are somewhat "purists" and are only concerned with making the best "jazz" CD possible complete with cutting edge improvisations over even more intense chord progressions. This type of CD is great and I'm not knocking them, but choosing this route may not help the cash register ring when it comes to making more sales.
Chicago tenor saxophonist Mark Colby has recently released a CD that I believe can appeal to almost any listener - jazz or otherwise. He sent me his latest CD recently and I liked it so much I decided to post to this blog and let you guys know about it.
The CD was made as a tribute to Stan Getz, someone who Mark knew personally since he was a teenager. Mark did something on the CD that is pretty cool, and I'm surprised that more musicians don't do this. The last track contains his personal experience in meeting Stan Getz for the first time and how listening to one tune on a 45 rpm recording changed his life. Listen to Mark in his own words, taken directly from the last cut on the CD:
The first thing that struck me was the lineup of great players that Mark put together for this recording. The CD is chocked full of the best players from the Chicago area. It also includes numerous tracks with either Jim McNeely or Jim Trompeter at the piano.
The second thing that struck me as I listened to the CD itself, was the excellent selection of tunes. Since this CD is meant to be a tribute to Stan Getz, the tunes Mark selected or wrote fit perfectly with that idea in mind. The standards are not the run-of-the-mill worn-out standards that everyone has recorded a million times. A wide variety of composers are represented including Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Irving Berlin, Gordon Jenkins, Gigi Gryce and Mark himself. As someone with an "arranging" mindset, I was especially impressed with tunes that included strings (When It Matters, Give and Take) as well as a big band tenor feature (Blue Getz Blues). The big band track features Rob Parton's big band, the best in Chicago by far in my humble opinion. Arrangements for instrumentals were done by Chris Madsen and are really top notch.
Finally, it goes without saying that the level of playing on this CD is about as good as it gets. Mark plays solos that are so damn melodic and just "fit" every tune. I plan on transcribing some of them (with permission of course!) and when I do I will post them here for you guys to download and learn from.
Mark's CD can be purchased at CDBaby for a measly $13 bucks or so. Click here and take a minute and listen to some of the tracks. Whatever level of jazz sophistication you currently possess, I guarantee you will enjoy listening to this CD by Mark Colby.
