TIN SANDWICH PRODUCTIONS  COPYRIGHTED  4 - 15 - 2008

Tin Sandwich Music Productions

About Mike Turk

Bronx-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
 

· The Nature Of Things (2008) Tin Sandwich Records

· The Mouth That Roared (2007) Tin Sandwich Records

·       A Little Taste of Cannonball (1999) Organic Music

·       Turk's Works (1996) Tin Sandwich Records

· Harmonica Salad (1992) Tin Sandwich Records

Mike as  Sideman and Featured Guest

· Young Blood with Jerry Lee Lewis. Warner Brothers

· Carnival of the Animals with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by S. Ozawa.

· It's About Time with Paul Broadnax. Brownstone

· A Time for Love with Monica Hatch. Brownstone

· Almost Spring with Matt Gordy. Brownstone

· Homeward Bound - A Tribute to Paul Simon with Common Ground. Northstar

· In A Sentimental Mood with the Boston Jazz Ensemble. Northstar

· The Way You Look Tonight with the Northstar Jazz Ensemble. Northstar

· Like Someone In Love with the Northstar Jazz Ensemble. Northstar

· Sugarland Express with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops.

· Don't Dream of Anybody But Me with Donna Byrne

· Sharon Robinson’s Invisible Tattoo June 2008 SHARON ROBINSON

· House Of Blue Rags - The Rico Blues Combo 2006 RICO BLUES COMBO

"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!"
Toots Thielemans

"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!!!"
Ron Della Chiesa - WGBH Radio, Boston

"Mike Turk has applied the language of the saxophone to the harmonica in a very impressive fashion . . . it amazes me."
Jerry Bergonzi

". . . One of the most gifted jazz harmonica players on the scene today.  A remarkable style fueled by amazing jazz interpretation."
Jerry Adler, SPAH, November, 1996

". . . 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 . . ."
LeJazz Magazine, September, 1998