Mark Ginsburg's High 5

Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2018-02-24.

High 5

Mark Ginsburg emerged as a saxophonist of note in Cape Town where he frequently performed at popular jazz venues such as the Hohenhort as well as performing in shows, television programs and on tours, including a two-month tour working with notorious British comedian Spike Milligan. Since migrating to Australia, Mark has performed and collaborated extensively with vocalist Judy Campbell and has more recently established his quartet, The Mark Ginsburg Band.

Mark completed a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium in 2003 and is one of the founding members of Judy Campbell’s MOSAIC, contributing compositions and arrangements for the band.

Mark is currently undertaking a Master of Music course at the Sydney Conservatorium, focusing on music of Jewish origin.

The Mark Ginsburg Band has recently released a new album called “Generations” featuring material drawn from his research work.

“The things that drive my musical explorations range from the experience of singing in a synagogue choir as a young boy, listening to the melisma of the hazzan through to hearing strains of Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane playing on my elder brother’s monophonic turntable when I was too young to operate it myself. I am also inspired by the contemporary jazz emanating from the highly creative music scene in Australia.”

REVIEWS

“Mark Ginsburg communicates his sincere warmth through an overflowing love for music, the saxophone and life. His melodic lines sing with hope and majesty and he builds each solo into a solidified whole that resonates with logic and direction. Mark has chosen his material with taste and good pacing and has surrounded himself with a most excellent cast of supporting musicians. The original music he has composed is engaging and superbly arranged and performed.” -

Gordon Brisker, reknowned US saxophonist, arranger and composer

“Mark Ginsburg is a warm and talented saxophonist whose love for music making is clearly evident in both his beautiful compositions and his hearfelt playing.”

• Mike Nock, acclaimed pianist and composer

“In exploring his musical roots Mark Ginsburg has made intriguing discoveries. He has honored those insights here in a fashion that has produced a truly unique and listenable jazz album. This is an historic offering.”

• Bruce Cassidy, Jazz trumpeter, composer & arranger (Blood Sweat & Tears, Quincy Jones, Marvin Gaye).

1. TOM MCKINLEY TRIO - Ryles Jazz Club – Cambridge, Boston MA 1982

Tom McKinley Piano, Roy Haynes Drums, Miroslav Vitous Bass

My first visit to the US was in 1982. I was in Boston, visiting with John Lockwood (ex Capetonian bass player who is a member of The Fringe) and he took us to this gig. Ryles at that time had a very intimate room upstairs that must have seated somewhere between 50 to 80 people. We were right up close. It was totally mind-blowing. While it was many years and gigs ago, I remember the following things very distinctly: a) Tom McKinley’s solo in Solar was astounding. His facial expression was tightly linked to the lines he was playing, he was breathing his lines. I think everyone in the room was holding their breath; b) Roy Haynes at one stage during a drum solo, got up and away from his kit. He backed up to the wall, closed his eyes and played against the wall for what seemed a long time, and lastly c) Miroslav’s bow work was so unusual, something I had never witnessed before.

2. HAL CROOK & THE FRINGE – The Willow Jazz Club – Sommerville, Boston, MA. 1994

Members of The Fringe + Hal Crook, George Garzone (absent), John Lockwood – Bass

Hal Crook - Trombone, Bob Gulotti – Drums,Unknown – Piano Player

This was a normal Wednesday night Fringe gig but Garzone was out of town and had booked Hal Crook. When I arrived, Lockwood was nowhere to be seen. But there was a piano player whose name I cannot recall, Hal Crook and Bob Gulotti. This was the first time I had heard Hal Crook playing in a free setting. About 15 minutes into the set, Lockwood arrived, clearly late, but he did not join them; he sat down and watched them play the first set out. The second set started in the spirit of The Fringe, totally free, bass and drums for about 10 minutes, joined later by Crook and then the piano player. The journey continued and eventually the set finished the same way it started just the one piece of music. Then Hal Crook stood up and said “My mission in music is to get as lost as possible. But I can’t do it with this rhythm section . they won’t let me get lost, the are so solid, they are like white on rice, . nothing phases them.”

3. STAN GETZ, JIM MCNEELY, RON CARTER & ELVIN JONES - Kennedy CentreWashington 1982

One of the good things about being born in the 50s is that I was able to see Elvin Jones play. He was larger than life. He seemed physically like a giant on the stage amongst the rest of the band. He was wearing a colourful kaftan and his face wore a huge smile for what I seem to remember being the whole set and his eyes bored holes into whatever he was looking at. Whilst it was great to see the other guys, I found myself drawn to watching Elvin all the time. So much has been written on Elvin – I don’t really have anything to more to add.

4. DAVE LIEBMAN, VIC JURIS, TONY MARINO & MARKO MARCINCO- Settlers High School, Cape Town, South Africa 2009

My first encounter with Dave in person was on Friday, April 3, 2009 at Settler’s High School in Cape Town where Dave and his group conducted a workshop with the school music students. I had the opportunity to observe him at close quarters in a performance environment and also in dialogue with the students during the workshop. Seeing him perform was close to a life-altering experience. His technical capability was awesome and his approach to improvisation, his timbre (including the use of vocalisation), his choice of notes and phrases and the overall intensity was quite unique. Although I had heard recordings, it was a very different experience seeing this in a live context. Dave does not carry his own tenor saxophone around and usually borrows a local player’s tenor for performance purposes. During the performance, he gestured to Michael Rossi (Professor at the College of Music in Cape Town), asking for his tenor saxophone which I knew for a fact that Dave had never played before. Dave put his own mouthpiece on the crook and without even blowing a single note to tune the instrument or get a sense of its sound, launched into an up-tempo be-bop composition. He played the entire range of the instrument including the altissimo register without any sign of difficulty. It was almost as if the instrument was incidental to what he was doing. Perhaps it was. Dave’s interaction with his band and with the students at the workshop was very exciting to watch. He gave excellent feedback and provided constructive suggestions to the ensemble members and whilst his manner was direct and candid, it was also kind. By the end of the workshop, it was clear that the school ensemble had learnt some very key approaches to improve their performance. The final rendition of the material they had chosen was distinctly better than their first.

5. MICHAEL BRECKER, JOEY CALDERAZZO, JAMES GENUS & JEFF TAIN WATTS – Royal Albert Hall, London 1996

Michael Brecker was someone I had been wanting to see on a gig since the late 70’s but for one reason or another, it did not work out until 1996. Ever since I had heard him playing a ballad, Heather, on one of Billy Cobham’s albums, I was “infected”. In 1982, I bought a Claus Ogerman album called Cityscape featuring Brecker with a rhythm section and orchestral string section. It was, and remains a seminal piece of work for me (and hopefully others who have had the opportunity to listen to it). It moved me so much that I wanted to do something special with it, like ask to have it played at my funeral or something like that. Anyway, needless to say, I was pretty excited to be getting the opportunity to see him in 1996. The concert was amazing but there was an aspect to it that I found a little disturbing. They were all dressed in dark suit and tie. Most of the time he stood very still and seemed disconnected from the audience. Visually, it seemed to lack emotion. The concert was a double bill with John Scofield’s opening. That first set was full of joy, the guys were clearly having fun on stage. This was such a contrast to the Brecker set. Perhaps I had built up too much expectation. Of course the music hit the spot, especially when I shut my eyes. I subsequently saw him in the late 90’s playing with Charlie Haden. He seemed more relaxed but there was no loss to the drive and forward motion of his playing. I felt more connected on that occasion.