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TIN SANDWICH PRODUCTIONS COPYRIGHTED / updated November / 2009 |
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Tin Sandwich Music Productions |
About Mike TurkBronx-born Turk began his passion for the harmonica in his early teen years, learning licks off albums by leading Chicago blues harp exponents Paul Butterfield, Little Walter, and James Cotton. After deciding to take up the life of a professional jazz-and-blues musician, he traveled to Boston in the mid-1970s and became a fixture at many local clubs. Prizing the spontaneous above the formulaic, Turk uses his command of the instrument to convey every possible nuance of feeling. His trove of expressive riffs and runs has livened the soundtracks of many motion pictures, including City of Hope, Dick Tracy, (the latter alongside legendary pianist Jerry Lee Lewis), Lonestar and Honeydripper. The Cambridge resident has also recorded with artists as diverse as the Temptations, Cincinatti Pops and the Boston Symphony and POPs Orchestras, and supplied his distinctive tones to various Network and Public television productions. Kim Field, author of "Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers" has written: "Mike Turk first made an international reputation for himself more than two decades ago as a master of the diatonic Marine Band model favored by the blues players. But as he fell into the gravitational pull of jazz, Turk turned to the chromatic harmonica, which allows the player to achieve all the notes of the chromatic scale by pushing a spring-loaded slide mechanism. . . . Turk's first solo CD project, Harmonica Salad, was a brilliant travelogue of blues, jazz, standards, and several points in between, with scenery provided by a constantly changing cast of accompanists. Turk's Works is a more single minded excursion in which Turk has set himself in the middle of a killer quintet and let the tape run. What we get is an inspired, exhilarating, and very live set of sterling jazz. No formulaic drill, no 'theme' concept passed down from the folks in Marketing, no sprint to the finish line." Whether you hear him live or on CD, Mike Turk, it can be said without hesitation, has a unique and compelling musical talent that is all too rarely encountered these days. Mike's Recordings
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"Mike Turk is a no-nonsense musician and the harmonica is his life. [He is] one of a rare breed who started out with the blues harp and went on to get an enviable technique on the chromatic. His home base is bebop with a healthy swinging approach. He shows familiarity with some interesting melodic scales. [He makes] a harmonica statement that should reach out beyond the harmonica audience. . .Turk is a fiery player. . . . came out of the bluesharp and assimilated the chromatic quite fluently. . . . knows his changes and aims for swing! . . . Go for it Mike!" "My good friend Mike Turk is truly one of the world's great harmonica virtuosos. Jazz, blues, and classics . . . his repertoire is endless! He can make his instrument sing with lyric beauty, or get 'down right' funky with the blues. Mike's playing is always soulful and straight from the heart. Hearing him play throughout the years has always brought me endless pleasure. I know you'll feel the same way after listening to this marvelous collection. Bravo Mike!!!" "Mike Turk has applied the language of the saxophone to the harmonica in a very impressive fashion . . . it amazes me." ". . . One of the most gifted jazz harmonica players on the scene today. A remarkable style fueled by amazing jazz interpretation." ". . . It's not surprising to learn that Mike Turk was originally a blues player and started using chromatic harmonica only afterwards, for the blues is there in every note. His style owes a lot to Toots Thielemans, but it's more sober, also more joyful. This album swings from beginning to end . . ." |
