Album Review: Ballad Sessions by Mark Turner

Staring out at you from the cover of his fourth album, you would be forgiven for immediately thinking that the bald head on the cover of Mark Turner's Ballad Sessions belongs to media darling Joshua Redman '91. However, while Redman is known for his fire and exuberance alternating with tender touches, fellow tenor saxophonist Turner's sound is cooler and more brooding. That latter quality certainly shows up on this latest release, an album consisting of ballads that runs the gamut from George and Ira Gershwin to Hoagy Carmichael.

Shifting between full rhythm sections and just bass and drums throughout the album, Turner waxes introspective with the breathy tone and plodding rhythm of the standard "Stardust." The album would be easily dismissible were it not for Turner's flights of interpretational fancy, which soar to great melodic heights yet still maintain the melancholia inherent to many tracks. On "I Loves You Porgy," he conjures simple sentimentality in a lush landscape of tender phrasing and introspective tones. Granted, not every single aspect of Ballad Sessions works. Turner's group doesn't gel when he attempts to change pace with Latin inflections on "All or Nothing At All," and bassist Larry Grenadier and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel just aren't up to par with their more talented headliner. It's not that Turner isn't featured with ample attention, but he still leaves you wanting to hear more. B+