Review: Mark Winkler Returns to NYC, Providing Jazz Pleasure at Pangea

Pity we poor reviewers who have reviewed the recordings, personal appearances, persona, and lyrics of Mark Winkler numerous times – trying to not rely on the adjectives that keep jumping to mind inevitably when describing this long-careered jazz man.  The usual over-used but oh-so-apt choices are:

COOL….  HIP… LAID-BACK … FUN… BREEZY… RELAXED…MELLOW… SLY… TASTY… SWINGING ..COZY

He is all those things – and has been for decades. (He has been recording steadily since the 1980s). Although he devoted one full album to the songs of Bobby Troup and another to the work of Laura Nyro (two very different writers) and some albums concentrate on original songs, recent recordings tend to be a mix with both standards and numbers with his own lyrics. The fellow decidedly has a way with words and moods, and can be counted on to write lyrics that can be amusingly witty (sometimes delightfully quirky) or disarmingly sincere with neither tone feeling forced or overdone. All these qualities were on display in his effective mix in a show at Pangea with a smart mix of his own collaborations with various composers and selections from the Great American Songbook.

His almost hot-off-the-press record, appearing online and in stores just a couple of weeks before his Pangea date of May 16, is titled Love Comes First. Although it was prominently mentioned, he didn’t make the set the kind of CD Release Event that overwhelmingly (or only) featured selections from the very newest of many albums (23, but who’s counting?)  Instead, the set list gave a wider overview of his repertoire. Picked to represent the repertoire on the new disc was the cute item  “Snappin’ on the 2 and 4,” allowing the audience to join him in getting into the beat with finger-snapping fun (literally participating in the activity of the title). His immersion in jazz – which he always manages to make accessible to the more casual jazz-hesitant listener (not abstract and never too far-out; his musicians don’t do long solos straying far from the melodic architectures).    

 The most unusual and ambitious piece is “Train Song,” which successfully creates the equivalent of a moody, atmosphere-drenched film noir, with music, mystery, and narration. Yes, there was quite a variety of flavors during the night – from the challenging to the charming, from the serious to the sassy, from the lively to the lovely. 

The Southern California-based guy doesn’t get to NYC often; this was his first time in the Big Apple in a few years. But those of us who live here full-time and those who’ve visited know it has its challenges and annoyances, both kinds of people can appreciate his lyric about the :big bad city” suddenly seeming to be absent its noted problems – such as traffic jams, high theatre prices, hard-to-get cabs, instead claiming to come across sidewalk trash that smells “sweet”(!) and super-friendly people “smiling wherever I go/ They drop their cellphones to say hello.” What could make life here seem idyllic?  His song (with a likeable melody by Michele Brourman) answers: “I must be ‘In Love in New York.’” And he made a couple of fond references to his own romantic partner who was in the house, cheering him on.  This number is on his 2025 release, Hold On, and he reached back further in his discography, for another item about Manhattan, “That Afternoon in Harlem” (music by Marilyn Harris), released in 2017 on The Company I Keep. The company he was keeping on stage: a splendid quartet featuring pianist Allen Farnham.     

Standards performed included rewarding, involved renditions of “Mona Lisa,” “The Shadow of Your Smile,” and an especially warm “Two for the Road.” The audience was very receptive; seated on either side of me in the appealing small but comfortable room were two very appreciative audience members of contrasting familiarity with Mark Winkler: a theatre reviewer, encountering his talents for the first time and David Kenney, the longtime radio host of the WBAI program playing good stuff, including much cabaret, Everything Old Is New Again. Mark Winkler’s light but knowing touch makes everything old seem a touch new and each year again brings appealing new songs of his to add to an impressive oeuvre.  

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Pangea is at 178 Second Avenue in Greenwich Village. See www.pangeanyc.com for calendar and info.

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