Colby Hits a Classic Here
Charlie Dresser | Wheaton (Chicago Area), IL United States | 02/23/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My goodness....Mr. Mark Colby is one of the most accomplished, mature and modest musicians on the scene today.
accomplished as to say his work with Jaco Pastorius, Maynard Ferguson, and Bob James is all legendary. Mature as in tone, because he has - hands down, no doubt - the BEST tone on the market. so rich, so full and so flawless. mr. colby's tenor sound is one that i could never get tired of listening too. modest because he lets his incredible band, consisting of the wonderful piano works of the musical genius, Vince Maggio, the incredibly versatile bass works of Eric Hochberg, and the masterful drumming of one of my personal favorites, mr. bob rummage, mark lets them do what they do, and believe me, they do it WELL! this is a great, groving album that you'll never want to put on a shelf, it'll always be fresh, it's just that kind of cd. and by the way, rob partons guest trumpeting is also phenomanal in case you were wondering. get this cd, believe me, you'll love it."
A Reference for Sax Players and Fans
John F. Temmerman | Skokie, Il United States | 01/01/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've known Mark for several years, first being his student, then as he became my friend and mentorOnce Mark told me that he had recorded a CD live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, I KNEW that it was going to be great. This CD is even better than I expected. It features tremendous musicians (Mark, Maggio, Bob Rummage on drums and Eric Hochberg on bass, with a guest appearance by Parton) who have played with each other A LOT. The tightness shows through extended sections of drum/tenor interplay, bass/tenor interplay, an evocative tenor/piano duo (Bar Room Ballad) and more! The tunes show a wide range. Mark composed three of the tunes, while the covers include the more familiar choices of Softly As In A Morning Sunrise, My One and Only Love and Beautiful Love, among others The musicians put themdelves into each piece - weaving in and out of the chords, handling tempos up to burnin' (Softly), playing the tunes subtlely, but as a team. Maggio's comping is unique in the choice of chords and rhythms, but consistently spurs the soloists, always respecting them through his listening to their solos. Maggio solos well, as does Parton on his cuts. Mark shows his mastery of the tenor. He has a great, unique sound that grown through years of study, reflection and listening. Of course, you can hear a whisper of Stan Getz here, a hint of Joe Henderson there, and others, but he's put them together into a rich, unique, mature, yet evolving instrumental voice. His technique and sense of time are unusually good, at whatever tempo is being played. Especially notable is his command of dynamic range from nearly inaudible to truly powerful. The result is tremendously moving playing, always appropriate, always his own. All the cuts are enjoyable. My favorites are My One And Only Love, a haunting ballad, one of the best recorded versions of this tune, Softly, a subtle, outside, furious-tempoed version of this song, with great work by Bob Rummage on drums in supporting Mark and Riley's Thang a medium-tempo blues with a succession of great solos. I've enjoyed reading about the success of this CD and it showing up on various radio playlists. It's about time that Mark's talent became known among the record-buying public. I listen to a lot of CDs. This is the best one I've gotten this year. If you like post-bop and modern tenor sax, you'll LOVE this. It is in print and readily available."
Mark Colby is AWESOME!!!
Steve Ruel | Naperville, Il USA | 06/17/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"all I have to say is WOW!!! Mark Colby plays the heck out of that tenor sax. He is the technical master of the saxophone. Not only is he great on the cd, rob parton is an excellent trumpet player that you can easily groove to. Vince Maggio is is very rhythimic and always is responding to Mark's playing. Eric Hochberg Is a very interesting bass player to listen to. He's a ryhthym machine!! As Charlie Dresser said, Bob Rummage fits Mr. Colby like a glove. They both feed off each other's excellent playin abilities. Buy this one, and never take it out of your CD player!!!"
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1