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

[Emile Damico <oatss_oatflakes@xxxxxxxxx>]

Glad you liked the Au Privave.

Maybe I'll make it to Spah when it's on the east coast
In Philly. We're official now we have a harmonica club LOL



--- On Sat, 5/2/09, Michael Polesky, MPA <m.polesky@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Michael Polesky, MPA <m.polesky@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Mike Turk CD "The Nature of Things"
To: oatss_oatflakes@xxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, May 2, 2009, 1:04 PM

By the way,

Loved your Au Privave!  Any chance you'll make to a SPAH sometime in the
future?

Go enjoy Mike Turk's album.  Take care,

Michael (with the drummer from Philly)


----- Original Message ----- From: "Emile Damico"
<oatss_oatflakes@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2009 9:41 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Mike Turk CD "The Nature of Things"


Thanks for that post Mike. I remember playing with him at Turtle Bay in an
ensemble.
Diggs

--- On Sat, 5/2/09, Michael Polesky, MPA <m.polesky@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Michael Polesky, MPA <m.polesky@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Mike Turk CD "The Nature of Things"
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, May 2, 2009, 12:24 PM

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
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_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l