Mark Lewis Quartet
Naked Animals
AUDIO DADDIO
Born in Tacoma in 1958 and raised on a farm outside Gig Harbor, reed man Mark Lewis began to make a name for himself locally as a quietly avant-garde player in the mid ‘70s. In 1978, he moved to Holland, where he stayed 14 years before returning to the Northwest. Naked Animals features tracks recorded in Holland in 1990 by one of Lewis’ European bands, with Willem Kühne (piano), James Long (bass), and Frans van Grinsven (drums).
A distinctive original who doesn’t hew to traditionally chopsy, chromatic bebop lines, Lewis plays alto with a light, golden sound and legato phrasing that occasionally recalls Paul Desmond or Art Pepper. He produces a full, robust, silvery tone from the flute. Naked Animals features eight tracks, all originals. It starts out low-key, with the pretty “Moon Flower” and the waltz, “Mercurian Romance,” builds energy on “Ghost of a Chance” (not the standard with a similar name), then explodes on the title track, also in three, as Lewis wails in the high register over rumbling bass and drums. The lovely ballad, “A Dance With Monique,” shows off the luster of Lewis’ flute sound, which includes a breathy little “catch” in the manner of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. “City Slicker” slows things back down, “4-D” features speedy walking bass and a couple of Pepperish clusters. The closer, “The Seven Angels” moves from a happy, pretty melody to a conversational, avant-ish double solo by alto and piano before coming home to the melody. Pianist Kühne is by turns lively and atmospheric, bassist Long plays with crisp vigor (though his sound can be a bit nasal at times), and the always-supportive drummer van Grinsven creates an exciting skein of sound with Long’s vamp on “Naked.”
Before the pandemic, Lewis was performing regularly in Ballard. Hopefully, when it’s over, he’ll be playing some of this music there.
–Paul de Barros
