[Harp-L] Mike Turk CD "The Nature of Things"

["Michael Polesky, MPA" <m.polesky@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

I got Mike Turk's newest CD "The Nature of Things" in the mail last week.  I didn't hear about this CD through "regular channels", but from Cadence Magazine, a jazz monthly.  A friend of mine reads this and he noted that 2 harmonica CD's were reviewed in the latest issue.  Mike Turk and Enrico Granafei.  I haven't read the reviews yet and I won't be getting Enrico's CD for a couple of weeks.  Enrico is the one who plays jazz chromatic on Vern Smith's "Hands Free Chromatic" and accompanies himself on guitar.  Check http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoULWTqxjOs for an example.  I remember spending a few days with both Mike and Enrico together in Dallas at SPAH a few years back.

Anyway, as usual, I digress . . .My friend (bass player) who told me about the reviews was quite surprised that I didn't know about Mike's CD and I immediately went and got it as I had heard that this was in the works for a long time.  I am most definitely a biased person when it comes to Mike Turk's music.  I have always loved his playing and regarded him as the player whom I would most like to sound like.  This recording is no exception.  I was quite impressed with the quality of the music.  Like all of Mike Turk's albums, this was well conceived and it explores a variety of material with a modern jazz outlook.

The CD "The Nature of Things" is a little unusual in the fact that it is a trio consisting of guitarist Jon Wheatley, bassist Marshall Wood and band leader Mike Turk on the ILUS Renaissance Chromatic with no drums.  I first got wind that the CD was in the making in about 2007 when Mike told me he had some recordings and sent me one MP3 from this album and I have been anticipating the rest ever since.  Guitar, Bass and Harmonica really makes for a good sound.  It features harmonica very nicely - particularly with partners like those Mike Turk brought with him.  Jon Wheatley and Marshall Wood are fantastic on this album and they provide the extra support needed from the rhythm section in this arrangement.

The first thing I checked out about the CD were the liner notes by Jerry Portnoy.  I won't reveal too much (go buy it), but Mr. Portnoy laments that talents like Mike Turk do not have enough opportunities in today's music business.  Mike Turk himself wrote a more personal set of liner notes as well that describe how he became touched by the various tunes he picked out for this session.  It is quite an insight to the conception behind this album.

The trio covers a great deal of styles and material here from blues to ballads with a whole lot of straight ahead jazz in between.  Some of the tunes I enjoyed best are "Ovals" by the great guitarist Jimmy Rainey and "Bella Rosa" by the renowned composer and pianist Elmo Hope.  These tunes are examples of the kind of straight ahead jazz music that made a great impact when first released and yet was never fully adopted into the jazz repertoire of today.  Also, the Johnny Mandel tune "I Want To Live", a film score played here as a jazz blues and the title tune "The Nature of Things", a tune that caught Mike Turk's attentions after it was adapted to jazz by Bill Evans.  Another great addition is "mood Indigo", which shows a whole different side of Mike Turk's playing as he demonstrates his complete mastery of swing as well as straight ahead.  There is blues, ballads, standards, waltzes, Brazilian music and just about anything you would want.

There is only one original composition on this album, but, far from faulting Mike for this, I applaud his ability to use the resources at hand.  Jazz requires original compositions, but it also requires that one continue explore the compositions that have come before and also that one adapt compositions from different genre and add them to the repertoire.  Jazz compositions and adaptations are meant to be played and explored many times.  If the composition is only played a few times, then there is lots more playing to do.  When I read the liner notes to this album and I listened to its contents, I came away a better, more educated, more entertained and, dare I say, perhaps hipper person!  What can I say, I loved it.  This will always be a favorite in my collection.

To get the CD, go to Mike Turk's website at: http://www.miketurk.com/ or got to CD Baby.  I hope lots of you add this to your collection, it really should be there for anyone who enjoys jazz chromatic.

Michael