Tell the Truth Ben Markley

• 1 Tell the Truth 05:39
• 2 Tuesday Morning Feeling 08:03
• 3 Don't Bring It Up 06:05
• 4 Snowy Range Blues 07:15
• 5 Spencer's Mood 05:17
• 6 It's Spoken Spokane 09:14
• 7 The Picture Outside My Window 05:41
• 8 Rimshot 05:31
• Total Runtime 52:45

Info for Tell the Truth

With his two acclaimed big band recordings, and quartet sessions with saxophonists Joel Frahm and Greg Osby, pianist/composer Ben Markley has been steadily building a significant discography since his 2008 OA2 debut. With his fellow artists' strengths in mind, Markley has always written specifically for the session, and Tell the Truth is no different. Composed to highlight the hard-swinging resumes of the rhythm section—with bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Kyle Swan—Markley pays tribute to the '60s Blue Note quintet sessions, but hands the usual trumpet role to guitarist Steve Kovalcheck, along with alto saxophonist Wil Swindler, running the front line.

"Markley, his comping is exemplary, his solos as lyrical and logical as two of his role models, Cedar Walton and Bill Evans." (All About Jazz)

"Piano man Ben Markley leads a tasty post-bop team of Steve Kovalcheck/g, Wil Swindler/as, Rodney Whitaker/b and Kyle Swan/dr through a collection of classy originals. Most of the tunes have an optimistic feel, with his piano dancing on the tables of the Latin folk feeling "Rimshot" and sophisticatedly lyrical "It's Spoken Spokane". Swindler is fill ..." (George W Harris, Jazz Weekly)

Ben Markley, piano
Steve Kovalcheck, guitar
Wil Swindler, alto saxophone
Rodney Whitaker, bass
Kyle Swan, drums

Recorded on February 27, 2024
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Greg Heimbecker at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO
Produced by Ben Markley

Ben Markley
is a pianist, composer, arranger, author, educator, and leader of the Ben Markley Big Band, a daring ensemble known for their creative takes on beloved modern and contemporary jazz classics. Fresh off the heels of Clockwise: The Music of Cedar Walton, Markley tackles his most ambitious project yet: Ari’s Funhouse, a big band album featuring the music of drummer Ari Hoenig, with Hoenig himself in the drum chair. The album received great critical acclaim and was selected as one of the best 4 star rated albums of 2022 by DownBeat magazine.

Markley is active as a composer and arranger with many big band and vocal jazz charts published through UNC Jazz Press as well as his own website. Recent arranging commissions include the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, and Wyoming Jazz Educators All-State Jazz Band.

In 2023 Markley published Cedar. The Life and Music of Cedar Walton (University of North Texas Press). Markley conducted more than seventy-five interviews with friends and family members, musicians who played with or were otherwise influenced by Walton, and industry figures such as club owners. Musicians interviewed include such stars as Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, and Ron Carter. Walton’s wife Martha shared her extensive archives of photos, ephemera such as fliers and tour itineraries, and letters to inform Markley’s writing which is the definite biography on Walton.

Markley’s book A Practical Approach to Improvisation - The David Hazeltine Method was published by Jamey Aebersold Jazz in December of 2014. It documents David Hazeltine’s process of creating etudes from transcriptions.

Markley is an active performer in the Denver-metropolitan area and along the front range. He currently teaches jazz piano and serves as department chair of the music department for the University of Wyoming.

This album contains no booklet.