Mark Soskin

Mark Soskin - One Hopeful Day (2007) {Kind Of Blue Records ‎KOB 10019}
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© 2007 Recording Arts SA / Kind Of Blue Records ‎| KOB 10019
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

Mark Soskin has built an impressive discography as a sideman, though he hasn't been recorded nearly enough as a leader since his arrival on the jazz scene. Nearly 20 years after his first record date of his own, the veteran pianist assembled a top-shelf band with tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Bill Stewart for this studio date, which like most of his recordings is for a non-U.S. label.

Sought-after jazz funk rarity from reed-master Roger Glen. Produced by the Mizell brothers and featuring Bill Summers and Paul Jackson from the Headhunters.

Sonny Rollins - Sunny Days, Starry Nights (1984) {Milestone 025218912228 rel 1991}
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© 1984, 1991 Milestone Records / Fantasy | 025218912228
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Post Bebop / Saxophone

By 1984 it was a common complaint that Sonny Rollins's live appearances were much more exciting than his studio recordings. Although none of the latter were throwaways (and virtually all of the Milestone sessions have their moments of interest), few were real gems. Sunny Days, Starry Nights as usual finds the great tenor at his best on the two ballads ("I'm Old Fashioned" and Noel Coward's "I'll See You Again") while the other four originals have been largely forgotten. His backup crew features trombonist Clifton Anderson and keyboardist Mark Soskin.

Jimmy Ponder - Something To Ponder (1996) {Muse MCD5567 rec 1994}
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© 1996 Muse Records | MCD 5567
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Post Bop / Jazz Funk / Jazz Blues / Guitar

This is one of those something-for-everybody CDs (e.g., a blues, some ballads and standards) that succeeds on every count. Guitarist Ponder’s playing is a real treat for the head and heart and his rhythm section digs in with just the right amount of passion. Pianist Mark Soskin gently sways the Buddy Johnson hit, “Since I Fell for You” (which seems to be getting a lot of well-deserved attention lately) and swings “Satin Doll.” Bassist Peter Washington and drummer Roger Humphrey provide solid and unobtrusive support throughout this seven-track disc. Among the selections are a gorgeously relaxed “Moonlight in Vermont” (shades of Johnny Smith) and a super uptempo “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise.”

Sunny Days, Starry Nights is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, released on the Milestone label in 1984, featuring performances by Rollins with Clifton Anderson, Mark Soskin, Russell Blake and Tommy Campbell. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states: "By 1984 it was a common complaint that Sonny Rollins's live appearances were much more exciting than his studio recordings. Although none of the latter were throwaways (and virtually all of the Milestone sessions have their moments of interest), few were real gems. Sunny Days, Starry Nights as usual finds the great tenor at his best on the two ballads ("I'm Old Fashioned" and Noel Coward's "I'll See You Again") while the other four originals have been largely forgotten." Music critic Robert Christgau called the album "His most accessible and uncompromised album in more than a decade is soaked in the swinging pan-Caribbean 'calypso' that's been his special pleasure since the '50s…"

Jimmy Ponder - Steel City Soul (1998) {32 Jazz 32075}
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© 1998 32 Jazz | 32075
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Post Bop / Jazz Blues / Guitar

32Jazz continues to reissue much of the former Muse label material; compiled here, much to the company's credit, are 11 tracks from Jimmy Ponder's days at Muse. As another product from Pittsburgh, one of the cradles of jazz, he honors that city through the title of this release, Steel City. Ponder is one of those few who strum the guitar with his thumb, like Wes Montgomery; also like Montgomery, he gets a very warm and soft sound from the stringed box. On this album, Ponder shows he is equally facile with romantic, soulful material, like "You Are too Beautiful," where he is backed by ace pianist Benny Green, and on the Duke Ellington classic "Solitude," where Big John Patton's organ and Bill Saxton's flute take the lead.

On "Lockdown Releases" you follow the path of Wolfgang Lackerschmid's creative and varied musical history from the late seventies till 2020. All these tracks were either digitally remastered, finally completed or even recorded during the lockdown in spring 2020.