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Mark Colby

Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1949, Mark comes from a musical background, as his father was a professional musician (drummer) who played with Benny Goodman for a time in the ‘40’s.  At the age of eight, Mark was given a clarinet and lessons with a wonderful teacher by the name of Bill Schlagel, who emphasized the importance of proper technique and sound.  At age eleven, Mark took the next step in his evolution, saxophone, and thus began his life-long love affair.  Immersed in the sounds of the big bands enjoyed by his father, intrigued by the more modern sounds of bebop, cool and hard-bop records his sister played around the house, his dedication to pursuing a life in music was cemented.

In 1962, his family moved to Miami, Florida, where he began playing professionally at age 14.  On Miami Beach, he had the opportunity to play shows with popular acts, including Tony Bennett, Sonny and Cher, Bill Cosby, Ann-Margret and Sammy Davis, Jr., with seasoned musicians.  He was for many years the youngest guy on the bandstand, all the while pursuing his desire to play all styles of jazz.  As a high school student, he studied with James Casale (co-author of Patterns for Jazz with Jerry Coker.)  After high school, Mark attended the University of Miami, enrolling in Jerry Coker’s Jazz Studies program.  Studying with Jerry and pianist Vince Maggio had a profound effect on him, as did sitting in with Ira Sullivan since the age of 16.  These master musicians provided him inspiration and encouragement, as well as invaluable education in the jazz idiom.

Mark was fortunate to have had the incredible experience of working with legendary baritone sax player Gerry Mulligan while he was artist in residence.  While in college, he recorded with the likes of Dr. John, Wilson Pickett, Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones, and the Bee Gees.  After graduating with a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies, he received a call from Maynard Ferguson inviting him to join his band in New York.  After three albums and three years touring as featured soloist and musical director with Maynard, Bob James beckoned, and he became of member of the “James gang.”  Bob signed Mark to Columbia Records, beginning his solo recording career.  “Serpentine Fire” and “One Good Turn” both sold very well, while he toured for the next six years as a featured member of Bob James’ band.  Mark’s tours with Maynard and Bob found him playing jazz festivals and concert halls around the world.

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6
Liner Notes

Josie Falbo: You Must Believe in Spring

Read "Josie Falbo: You Must Believe in Spring" reviewed by Howard Mandel


The first moments of Josie Falbo's You Must Believe in Spring sweep us into a lush soundscape, through a cinematic introduction, up close and intimately to her marvelous voice. Her voice is full, rich and pure top to bottom, fluid and shapely as anything imaginable, imparting true faith into lyrics valuing a lifetime's experience, acceptance, appreciation and hope. Josie Falbo gives voice to a heartening message, that like all 13 selections here issue sincerely from the glorious musical gifts she ...

52
Album Review

Roberto Magris: Duo & Trio

Read "Duo & Trio" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Italian-born pianist Roberto Magris is a musician to whom the phrase “he could play the phone book and make it sound interesting" definitely applies--as it does to the late great Chicago-based saxophone maestro Mark Colby who met Magris in 2016, formed an instant bond and recorded one-half of this superlative album three years later, one year before Colby's untimely death from cancer. Magris and Colby recorded seven tracks in a Chicago studio and planned to record more--enough ...

13
Album Review

Roberto Magris: Suite!

Read "Suite!" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Roberto Magris, the Italian pianist who spends a good bit of time in the United States, records prolifically. His latest release is a 2CD set that covers a lot of ground, encompassing sparkling hard bop, spiritual jazz, solo piano work and soulful excursions that feature electric keyboards. For much of the CD Magris plays with a quintet featuring the late Mark Colby on tenor sax, Eric Jacobson on trumpet, Eric Hochberg on bass and Greg Artry on drums. ...

51
Album Review

Roberto Magris: Suite!

Read "Suite!" reviewed by Jack Bowers


When appraising a new recording by Roberto Magris, Rule No. 1 is always to expect the unexpected. On eighteen previous albums, the Italian-born pianist has produced tributes to Lee Morgan, Elmo Hope and Cannonball Adderley, welcomed guest artists Herb Geller, Sam Reed and Ira Sullivan, and led groups ranging from trio to septet, all for Kansas City's JMood Records. In that spirit, Magris' newest two-disc set, Suite!, isn't a suite at all; that is to say, it cannot be defined ...

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Album Review

Roberto Magris: Suite!

Read "Suite!" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Veteran jazz pianist Roberto Magris expands his collaboration with the Kansas City-based JMood label, recording almost two hours of uncommon traditional jazz and offering a mixture of re-arranged standards and original compositions covering fifteen tracks, nicely presented in a double CD package. The majority of the session was recorded while in Chicago in November of 2018. A socially-conscious individual, Magris has always viewed music as a way to express sorely-needed social awareness and introspective messages that make life worthwhile.

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Album Review

Roberto Magris: Suite!

Read "Suite!" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


Italian pianist/composer Roberto Magris could not have anticipated the urgent need for a positive message when he recorded Suite! in 2018. The newly released double album reflects Magris' belief that a better world is coming and his certainty is conveyed in a sprawling program of poetry, original compositions, and some surprising covers. He has recorded as the leader of several sextets but here features a new line-up dominated by studio musicians. Chicago bassist Eric Hochberg has worked with ...

32
Album Review

Roberto Magris: Suite!

Read "Suite!" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Italian pianist Roberto Magris began his jazz career in the late 1970s, releasing a handful of excellent albums on Soul Note Records. He picked up steam in his collaboration with Kansas City's JMood Records in 2008 on Kansas City Outbound. As a pianist and a bandleader, Magris seems to have soaked up numerous influences--mid-sixties Blue Note Records, McCoy Tyner, Elmo Hope, Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. His JMood Records catalog boasts eighteen releases, including the disc ...

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Recording

JMood Records Releases Roberto Magris' 'Duo & Trio' Featuring Saxophonist Mark Colby

JMood Records Releases Roberto Magris' 'Duo & Trio' Featuring Saxophonist Mark Colby

Source: Paul Collins Artist Management International

“I enjoy a good wine, says Paul Collins of JMood Records. Whenever I have a chance to attend a wine tasting, I look forward to the sommelier explaining various aspects of the wine. Things such as, the grape, the region, the vineyard and owners, the aging process, hints added, what to pair it with and lastly, tasting the product. With our new product, we have captured several textures and complexities of the jazz legacy and preserved them in time. Packaged ...

I've been listenting to Mark Colby for twenty years, and I've seen him grow into a master of the saxophone and master of the music he plays." ~Stan Getz

"Mark was a great asset to our event, providing incisive comments and excellent clinic work. He has an uncanny ability to lock in with both youngsters and adults." ~Dr. John Harding, Director of Jazz Studies University of North Carolina

"A brilliant saxophone soloist in the virtuoso range." ~John Wilson, The New York Times

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Duo & Trio

JMood Records
2022

buy

Suite!

JMood Records
2020

buy

You Must Believe In...

Southport Records
2020

buy

Sun Stone

JMood Records
2019

buy

Reflections

Origin Records
2009

buy

A Night in Tunisia

From: You Must Believe In Spring
By Mark Colby

Sunset Breeze

From: Suite!
By Mark Colby

Sun Stone

From: Sun Stone
By Mark Colby

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