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Mark Osteen vocals; tenor, alto and soprano saxophones Anthony Villa Gary Kerner Greg Mack
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| For two decades Cold Spring Jazz Quartet has appeared regularly in nightclubs, restaurants and concert venues in the Baltimore-Washington area, winning a broad and loyal following. Favorite venues have included Ixia Restaurant, Meli, and Germano’s Piattini. Recent private engagements have included Stella Maris’s annual wine-tasting event, concerts at the Dam Jam, Fiore Winery and at Artscape. CSJQ can create a variety sounds and moods—from a swing-and-standards combo to a bebop group or blues band—depending upon the audience and venue.
Urban Pastoral was very well received. The BJA Newsletter described the music as “honed to a high polish,” and the vocals as showing “pizzazz up the patoozy.” Their newest disk, Warming Trend, shows the band taking off in new directions. Anthony Villa’s elegant, energetic piano solos lend grace and vivacity to the originals “Ver la Luz,” and “Hagerstown,” and to Thelonious Monk’s “Evidence.” Mark Osteen’s saxophone playing hits new heights with dashing tenor solos on “Samba de Orfeu,” and his own “On Second Thought.” Drummer Greg Mack is showcased on the Afro-Cuban burner “Los Bravos,” and Gary Kerner’s witty bass style is perfect for Mose Allison’s sardonic “I Don’t Worry about a Thing.” The planet is warming up, and so is Cold Spring Jazz Quartet—but in a good way! Listen and feel the heat. Click here to check out a video of CSJQ performing “Humdrum Blues,” a song also found on Warming Trend. Click here to watch the band perform “Samba D’Orfeu” at Germano’s. Here’s the band playing a classic Mose Allison blues tune! Click here to view CSJQ performing on June 13, 2020, at their socially-distanced outdoor show. Contact Mark Osteen (410-339-7721) or e-mail mlcost33@comcast.net for further information or to book an engagement.
Photo: Leo Howard Lubow |
