Review: Mark Turner’s ‘Patternmaster’

Patternmaster (ECM, 2026) is tenor saxophonist Mark Turner’s follow-up to his highly acclaimed Return from the Stars (ECM, 2022). It features the same well-honed chordless quartet as its predecessor, focusing on the interplay between Turner’s tenor and Jason Palmer’s trumpet to create a free-flowing sound that seems almost perfectly balanced between unison passages and solos from the two horns. The solos grow naturally as part of the piece without grand entrances, but there are more intense build-ups and harder hits than on Return.  Meanwhile, bassist Joe Martin, Turner’s longtime sidekick and the only returning member of the saxophonist’s 2014 quartet, and drummer Jonathan Pinson dance around so freely underneath. Turner calls it the “psycho-spiritual,” a heightened collective intuition.  By almost any barometer, this quartet is among the most technically proficient and sophisticated groups on the contemporary scene. They are not quite straight-ahead but more play more “in” than “out.”

Though many will acknowledge Wayne Shorter’s influence in the title track, only the best of the cognoscenti will recognize it as a cleverly disguised contrafact of “Pinocchio” from Miles Davis’s Nefertiti (Columbia, 1968). Turner’s inimitable cool tone never strays from fully rounded notes. It takes the post-bop route with Palmer emitting a bit more fire but just enough restraint. Yet, like most of Shorter’s work, the track’s overall feel is harmonically expansive. “Tres Ocho” is a lengthy, slow-build, beginning with Martin’s declarative bass intro. Turner and Palmer deliver elongated lines in unison as the piece takes on a chamber music feel that soon morphs into extended solo improvisations from each horn, often referencing their bebop lineage along the way. Martin and Pinson deftly steer the frontliners through the changes, with the latter getting a brief say as well. Martin’s arco work in the last section is especially impressive.

The quartet takes a vintage bebop route through “It Very Well May Be,” with the leader exhibiting fluidity and crazy range in his solo. Turner maintains the tempo while reducing the temperature slightly even as the engine room remains on fire throughout. Martin plucks vigorously in his solo, and Pinson shines with cymbal flourishes. Turner nods to the brilliant altoist, Steve Lehman, on “Lehman’s Lair.” This is perhaps reciprocity at work given Lehman invited Turner to play with him on last year’s The Music of Anthony Braxton (Pi, 2025). The music in this piece is similar to, woven with complex harmonies and accessible melodies.

“The Happiest Man on Earth” is essentially Patternmaster’s ballad, reminiscent of earlier motifs in Turner’s catalog. The harmonic blend between tenor and trumpet is delectably sweet, floating above Pinson’s rumbles and Martin’s spare, understated, but sturdy delivery.  Yet, just after the three-minute mark, about halfway through, both horns grow fiercely aggressive, almost out of character, before they find their way back to their flowing blend. The closing “Supersister” is repurposed from Sky & Country (ECM, 2009) by Fly, Turner’s defunct trio with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. Here, with Palmer aboard, the piece is reimagined as a multi-section suite, with music that flows in and out of chamber music and hard bop modes. Pinson drives hard, not only in his thunderous solo but throughout, pushing the quartet seamlessly through the several sections. Martin steps up emphatically in his turn as well.

All six tracks on the Patternmaster have a memorable melodic structure and feature a superb harmonic interplay between the two horns. Turner, known for a floating, lightness of tone and a cooler, mellower approach than most of his tenor peers, often stretches out beyond his usual comfort zone to more intense and fiery expressions, clearly pushed there by his bandmates. You will rarely hear heat this intense on an ECM release.

‘Patternmaster’ is out now on ECM Records. It can be purchased directly from the label.

Photo credit: Sam Harfouche