Mark Turner

Longtime collaborators Mark Turner and Jakob Bro play central roles in the feature-length documentary film “Music for Black Pigeons”, which premiered at the 79th Venice Biennale, played across film festivals worldwide and portrays the unique artistic processes of Paul Motian, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell, Craig Taborn, Andrew Cyrille, Manfred Eicher and many others. Mark Turner is heard on three albums with Jakob Bro, all from Avatar Studios in New York, and enters the film in a session from Copenhagen working on his first solo studio album with Bro as producer.

"In the early 2000s, I lived in Red Hook, Brooklyn, with bassist Ben Street. Mark Turner lived in Puerto Rico, but when he was in New York to play concerts, he also stayed with Ben. It was a railroad apartment where all the rooms were connected in a row. It wasn’t possible to isolate yourself. Mark was constantly practicing when he was home. All the time. For hours on end. His saxophone and his work on sound, harmonies, melodies, rhythm etc., became a kind of soundtrack to my life at the time. It’s common to use quiet music, electronic music, or ambient music as a backdrop to the things you do at home in everyday life—music that sets a mood, brings calm.

Mark’s solo saxophone took on that role for me. Of course, you could dive into the things he was playing (sometimes, I secretly recorded his practice sessions on my MiniDisc from my room and tried to analyze and learn what he was working on). Other times, it was just background music, like when I listened to Bonnie Prince Billy, Brian Eno’s ambient music, etc. The horn has so much warmth and life, and then there’s a harmonic world that is entirely Mark’s own. My wish with the solo album is to recreate the mood I experienced when I lived with Mark. He’s sitting in the next room, searching for new paths in the music. Always." – Jakob Bro