Mark Rapp Brings Fresh Ideas to Jazz With His New Album

Mark Rapp is a young, up and coming trumpeter who seems to have found his footing in a sound that can best be described as soul jazz. On his new album, Token Tales, Rapp displays his knack for producing crisp melodic lines with both flair and a down-to-earth sensibility that intuitively gets the listener grooving. He knows just when to build momentum and expand the boundaries of improvisation. His tone is street wise and hip, but elegant enough to get nods from both novice and experienced audiences. Rapp can just as easily turn up the heat and then turn inward to radiate an ember glow. He weaves in global influences through his skillful playing of the Australian didgeridoo, a reminder that the world is increasingly a smaller place where there is no room for purists in music. In composition and playing, Rapp is a revelation and one of many young innovators who hold a key to the future of jazz in the present tense. In one word, Token Tales is ALIVE.