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Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Mark Whitecage (1937 - 2021)

Mark Whitecage. Photo by Peter Gannushkin

By Martin Schray

There are musicians you always wanted to see live, but somehow it doesn't work out. This was the case for me with Mark Whitecage for years. Then I was able to catch him with the Nu Band at the German-American Institute in Heidelberg two years ago. It was a great gig and he was in a great mood and entertained the audience with anecdotes and his varied playing. Now the wonderful saxophonist and clarinetist has passed away at the age of 83.

Mark Whitecage might not have been one of the alpha dogs on the scene but he was an outstanding old school (free) jazz saxophonist. And he had a long musical life indeed.

He began performing in his father's family band at a very early age. In his youth he listened a lot to Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Lester Young and Stan Getz. He went to New York in the 1970s and was loosely associated with the loft scene with INTERface, a quartet with Perry Robinson (clarinet), John Shea (bass) and John Fischer (piano). Then he met Gunter Hampel and did longer tours with Hampel’s Galaxie Dream Band, which helped him to build up a network outside the US. “We probably played every venue in Europe. When we first started in ’72, Gunter was very hot and we were playing the festivals, too. It was very nice. I know all the people over there and they know me“, he once said in an interview with All About Jazz. During the 1980s he had two separate bands: Liquid Time and the Glass House Ensemble. In the meantime Whitecage had gradually built up a very good reputation and he connected with the New York City-based Improvisor's Collective, a network that brought forth many of the best jazz musicians even to this day. His name is also closely related to the founding of Bob Rusch’s CIMP Records, a label he recorded for prolifically. The people he played with at that time is a like Who's Who of US free jazz: William Parker, Jackson Krall, Anthony Braxton, Dominic Duval, Joe McPhee, Steve Swell and many more. By 2000, he had split from CIMP because - as he said - Bob Rusch wasn’t interested what he was interested in at that time - namely electronics. Instead Mr. Whitecage recorded predominantly for his own Acoustics label.

Although he was socialised with bebop and cool jazz, Mark Whitecage was an improviser of extraordinary imagination and intensity. His linear, free-bopish style had its roots in the music of Lee Konitz and Charlie Parker, but his phrasing also reminded me of Ornette Coleman and this special mix created his very own voice. His sound on alto saxophone could be voluptuous and sparkling at the same time; his clarinet could be dark and gloomy, like the style of his friend Perry Robinson. His improvised lines are hard to pigeonhole, so skilled was he at adapting to the situation of different surrounding.

His latest working project, the Nu Band, was an organism that had found its common breath. Well grounded by Joe Fonda’s warm walking bass, the band was one of a kind. All of the musicians contributed compositions (Fonda, Roy Campbell/Thomas Heberer on trumpet and Lou Grassi on drums), they threw the melodies back and forth to each other. Especially with trumpeter Roy Campbell (and after Campbell’s untimely death with Thomas Heberer) Whitecage was able to meet someone for sensitive dialogues.

At the Heidelberg gig my friend Christoph, who had seen him often at live shows, asked Mr. Whitecage what he was doing at the moment besides the Nu Band. He replied that he played in a lot of completely different projects, including theater and even with people from the Grateful Dead. Joe Fonda, who stood next to us, then said that his friend was actually a hippie. “First I was first a beatnik, then I was a hippie“, he shortly remarked, smiling. It also says a lot about his music.

If you have hardly heard anything about Mark Whitecage, know this: he was not only a musician’s musician, even if his colleagues have praised him to the skies. Sadly, music magazines like Down Beat or Jazzwise have hardly mentioned him. But you get a glimpse of what the music of this man is about if you listen to Consensual Tension or Research on the Edge (1998 and 1999, CIMP). Give Live in Concert by Dominic Duval’s String Ensemble (1999, Cadence) and Live at the Public Theater by Saheb Sarbib and his Multinational Big Band (1981, Cadence) a chance. Also, check out the Nu Band’s The Final Concert and Live in Paris (2016 and 2010, both on NoBusiness). The first INTERface album (1976, NY Composers Collective) is a treat. And you’re never wrong with Gunter Hampel’s Galaxie Dream Band’s Broadway/Folksong (1972, Birth Records). Then you will know something about his music and why he should have a place in the virtual free jazz hall of fame. Music was his life, he once said. People will miss you, Mark Whitecage.

Watch Mark Whitecage with the Nu Band at the Bop shop in Rochester/New York:

14 comments:

Paul said...

Martin, thanks for this remembrance of Mark Whitecage. I also had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Whitecage (for my first time as well) play with the Nu Band on their last tour and it was indeed one to treasure.

Stef said...

Thanks Martin and very sad news indeed. I saw the Nu Band perform several times with Roy Campbell and Thomas Heberer on trumpet. But a lot of his albums are worth checking ... he leaves a tremendous legacy even if he was not always recognised for his incredible musical skills. Also his albums with Paul Smoker or Herb Robertson on trumpet are worth digging up. According to Discogs he contributed to no less than 133 albums. There is lots to discover.

Captain Hate said...

Listening to Split Personality, a 95 release with Duval and Jay Rosen on Gunther Schuller's GM Recordings label. RIP.

Anonymous said...

I listened to Mark Whitecage in Köln, WDR Auditorium, in December 1972 with Gunter Hampel's Galaxy Dream Band (Lee, Hampel, Rava, Whitecage, Robinson, Praskin, Marcus, Eyges, Gregg).
RIP

Dom Minasi said...

Thanks for this Martin.Mark was an amazing musician and he will be missed. He was both comfortable in both worlds. The world of free advant and playing on changes. May he Rest in Peace
Dom Minasi

Richie Shakin' Nagan said...

I met Mark and Perry Robinson when I was 15 years old and they put a bend in the road of my life. The three of us played as Who Knows? for over 20 years. After Perry died I brought Mark to gigs in South Jersey "playing for the hippies", as Mark put it, in many of the area jam bands.

It was a blessing and an honor to have been allowed to make music with Mark. He was a big brother to me and I will miss his physical presence but he will live on in my heart and in my nusic.

Alen said...

Really sad news, condolences to his family. A wonderful musician, he did some really beautiful stuff with Dominic Duval and Michael Jefry Stevens, always loved his tone and approach. RIP

Jay Rosen said...

Nice tribute Martin!

Jay Rosen said...

Nice tribute Martin!

Matt Weiner said...

Sad news. I'm listening to Split Personality and went to his discogs page to see whether Split Personality was before the CIMP records with Jay and Dominic, and saw in the bio that he had just passed. I got the chance to see him with the Nu Band with Roy Campbell in Pittsburgh. RIP.

sneele said...

Mark and Perry were close friends of Mike Mahaffay and that is how I met them. They were titans. Rosanne was beautiful, very good to Mark and a great player. Their clarinet quartets were awesome. Mark is gone but the music will live forever.

Pedro Costa said...

I met Mark and his late wife Rozanne Levine in 2000 through my great friend Lou Grassi. I will always remember this gentle man with a very spontaneous smile and sharp humor. He was a tremendous alto sax player carrying the tradition of beboppers taking it into the reigns of free music. It was a pleasure and an honor being able to produce two of his records for Clean Feed and present him live in Lisbon back in the late 90’s. For listeners I strongly recommend Split Personality (a true masterpiece even with its horrible cover layout) from 1995 on GM Recordings and Free for Once out in 1996 on CIMP. Rest In Peace my friend. Pedro Costa, Clean Feed.

Pedro Costa said...

I met Mark and his late wife Rozanne Levine in 2000 through my great friend Lou Grassi. I will always remember this gentle man with a very spontaneous smile and sharp humor. He was a tremendous alto sax player carrying the tradition of beboppers taking it into the reigns of free music. It was a pleasure and an honor being able to produce two of his records for Clean Feed and present him live in Lisbon back in the late 90’s. For listeners I strongly recommend Split Personality (a true masterpiece even with its horrible cover layout) from 1995 on GM Recordings and Free for Once out in 1996 on CIMP. Rest In Peace my friend. Pedro Costa, Clean Feed.

Lou Grassi said...

Lou Grassi said:
A beautiful tribute and much deserved. To be clear, the video presented is not from Heidel,berg. It is from the Bop Shop in Rochester, NY. Jan. 14, 2018. Thanks for giving Mark his due. It was always inspiring to play with him.