Blackside

'Blackside' is the third album from American alto and soprano saxophonist Mark Gross. He leads a group that also features Cyrus Chestnut on piano and Greg Hutchinson on drums and performs an interesting selection of songs composed by Michael and Randy Brecker, Stevie Wonder and Hal Galper amongst others.

What's most startling about 'Blackside' is the fresh variety it carries. While some jazz albums give up their secrets, stylistically speaking, with the first tune or two, 'Blackside' is full of enticing surprises, reflecting the rich breadth of Gross' musical experience.

Upon his 1988 graduation from Berklee College of Music, Gross cut an impressive swath within the jazz world, performing with Buster Williams 'Something More' Quartet, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Charles Mingus Big Band, Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet, the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, and the Dave Holland Big Band. Further cementing his flexibility and fluency, Gross has performed on Broadway (Five Guys Named Moe, based on the music of Louis Jordan; Kat and the Kings, Swing ), with calypso icon Mighty Sparrow, with retro-swing king George Gee & His Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra, and with R&B singers Marlon Saunders and Kenny Lattimore.

Personnel: Mark Gross (alto & soprano saxophones), Freddie Hendrix (trumpet & flugelhorn), Cyrus Chestnut (piano), Yotam (guitars), Dezron Douglas (bass), Greg Hutchinson (drums), Vanderlei Pereira (percussion) and others