Mark Winkler delivers a fine new album permeated with some great jazz vocal performances.

Release date:  Available now

Label:  Café Pacific Records

Format:  CD / Digital 

Mark Winkler is a Los Angeles based jazz vocalist and songwriter, whose songs have been recorded and performed by many well-respected artists, including Liza Minnelli and Randy Crawford. Here on his 21^st recording, The Rules Don’t Apply, Mark presents eight original compositions and five covers, the latter evidencing his finely honed interpretative skills, where you will discover new perspectives brought to songs you thought you already knew well. 

The album opens with Sunday in LA. It is a song with a joyfully infectious swing, where Mark’s vocal conveys a vivid picture of the location, and living in the moment of a day, where play and connection are prioritised, before the week starts. The horn arrangements provide a melodic drive, which is deepened by some wonderfully intricate rhythms, delivered by Clayton Cameron on drums and Gabe Davis on bass. Greg Gordon Smith, co-writer with Mark, delivers an enchanting piano solo, which flows with delicate abandon over the band’s tight ensemble playing. This is an opener that sets the scene perfectly for the rest of the album and introduces Mark’s voice as an instrument full of warmth and engagement, and with an ability to paint pictures in sound. 

The first cover is I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World), written by Donald Fagen, from his classic solo album, The Nightfly. Here arranger John Beasley cleverly sets the song in a bossa nova style musical setting, that creates a dreamlike quality, that fits perfectly with Donald Fagen’s story of late 1950s optimism about the future. The small ensemble playing on this track is just exquisite, with George Doering’s guitar embellishments particularly impressive. Best of all though is Mark’s vocal, which inhabits every line of the song, with a poignant sense of wonderment. His voice travels through and over the band’s playing with a beautiful sense of pace and feeling. 

In Love In New York, is for this reviewer the standout original composition on the album, with music by Michelle Brourman and lyrics by Mark. It is a song with a sublime underpinning jazz syncopation, where the jaunty guitar and piano phrases work just perfectly, as they dance around the nimble rhythm section. The lyrics with affection, and a gentle humour, describe how the experience of the city is transformed through the lens of being in love. Mark’s vocal phrasing is pitch perfect with an intoxicating rhythmic swing. The following line is simply adorable:

“People smiling wherever I go

They drop their cellphones to say hello

I am sure this winter there won’t be snow

I must be in love”

The title track, The Rules Don’t Apply, with music by Eddie Arkin and lyrics by Lorraine Feather, has a cool blues feel, and a gentle defiance, that Mark effortlessly conveys. His voice moves from gently conversational to some great soaring phrases during the song’s coda. A special mention too for Brian Swartz on trumpet and Bob Sheppard on tenor sax, who pull off some excellent soloing.

Other highlights on the album, include intriguing interpretations of Paul Simon’s Something So Right, and Randy Newman’s Mama Told Me Not To Come. The version of Something So Right is particularly striking, where Mark sings with a real emotional depth, that really makes sense of Paul Simon’s wonderful words. On Mama Told Me Not To Come, we are treated to a delightfully sardonic vocal, within a very winning traditional jazz music setting.

Here’s To Jazz concludes the album, with Mark accompanied by the trio of Jamieson Trotter, piano, Clayton Cameron, drums, and Gabe Davis on bass. With music by Jamieson and words by Mark, this is a very free flowing piece, where all the players excel. Mark’s vocal becomes a striking fourth instrument and communicates so well the passion and creative inspiration at the heart of jazz music.  

This album is a great listening experience, that showcases a classic jazz voice, at home on both original compositions and interpreting, with new musical insights, songs by other songwriters.  The vocal performances are just superb and repay repeated listens. View here, the official music video, for Mark’s imaginative interpretation of Donald Fagen’s I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World):

Mark Winkler online: Website / Facebook

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