Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mark Godfrey: Square Peg

Mark Godfrey: Square Peg

By Dan McClenaghan
February 24, 2020
View read count

Mark Godfrey

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Godfrey has done his fair share of commuting in furtherance of his jazz career. Toronto—his home base—to New York has been a regular journey. The near five hundred mile trip would certainly be shorter (timewise) via airplane. But the decision was made to roll in a 2006 Dodge Caravan, due to the fact (we can guess) that an acoustic bass is a bulky yet fragile beast, susceptible to in transit damages. In your own vehicle, you can treat the big burnished piece of wood and strings like a carton of eggs.

Supposition aside, the cover art of Godfrey's album, Square Peg, features a three van caravan, driving westbound, pointing at Toronto, where the bassist works with his much lauded Pram Trio, records with keyboardist

Teri Parker

piano
b.1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Teri Parker and freelances prolifically. The Mark Godfrey Quintet is a "two sax front line and a rhythm section quintet." The group has crafted a modern sound, full of urgency on "Skyline" and shimmering beauty on "Black Stars," that opens with thirty seconds of what sounds like an electro Gregorian Chant, but is probably some sort of arco bass extended technique. As a whole the tune has an inside/outside dynamic, with a

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis Nefertiti (Columbia, 1968) mood.

"No Gig Today" blows out a carefree dance, and "One Game Away From Winter" is melancholy and introspective. It could be about the end of baseball season—Godfrey is rumored to be a Toronto Blue Jays fan.

Godfrey has assembled a skilled and cohesive band. Square Peg, his second recording with the quintet, has a distinctive verve and sparkle, a big full sound, instigative piano/drum work from

Chris Pruden

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Pruden and

Nick Fraser

drums
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Nick Fraser, respectively, and wonderful unison blowing interspersed with intricate interweavings from the saxophonists,

Matt Woroshyl

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Woroshyl and

Allison Au

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Allison Au.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Black Stars; Square Peg; No Gig Today; U.S.S. Rent-A-Car; Skyline; One Game Away From Winter; Forty Minutes Or More; Driving Westbound; McDuff; Bucket List.

Personnel

Mark Godfrey

bass

Allison Au

saxophone, alto

Matt Woroshyl

saxophone, tenor

Chris Pruden

piano

Nick Fraser

drums

Album information

Title: Square Peg | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Self Produced

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Alina Bzhezhinska Quartet At Regiona...
< Previous

Fourth Dimension
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.