Mark Turner

Tenor saxophonist Mark Turner is a highly inventive, egoless improvisor known for his meticulous, harmonically rich approach to modern creative jazz. Drawing upon the innovative sound of artists like John Coltrane, Warne Marsh, and Joe Henderson, Turner emerged in the '90s and garnered notice with albums like 1998's In This World and 2001's Dharma Days, working alongside such similarly inclined contemporaries as Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Brian Blade. Beginning with 2009's Sky and Country, he built a close association with the ECM label, splitting his time between collaborating with his Fly trio (with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard) and other heady projects like 2018's Temporary Kings with Ethan Iverson. He and Iverson are also regular members of drummer Billy Hart's quartet, having appeared on all of the group's albums, including 2025's Just. Turner also leads his pianoless quartet, as heard on 2014's Lathe of Heaven, 2022's Return from the Stars, and 2026's Patternmaster.