Ben Markley - LYDIALIEBMAN.COM

Tuesday Morning Feeling
Release date: May 1, 2026
Label: OA2 Records

Pianist and arranger Ben Markley is rightly heralded as one of the top contemporary big band writers, applauded by Downbeat Magazine for his arrangements ranking in the “Best Albums of 2022” with Ari's Fun House, featuring the music of drummer Ari Hoenig. Markley's expertise extends further, with him widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on the life, legacy, and works of Cedar Walton, seen through his album Clockwise: The Music of Cedar Walton and publication, Cedar: The Life and Music of Cedar Walton. Now, after dedicating his passion and expertise to artfully arranging and articulating the musical legacy of others, the Ben Markley Big Band presents Tuesday Morning Feeling, a new release that collects his own original work, all wrapped up neatly through the presentation of an all-star cast. Written with the voices of both Markley's staple ensemble and those of his esteemed guests in mind, Tuesday Morning Feeling simultaneously showcases Markley's writing and the stylings of contemporary icons such as Terell Stafford, Steve Davis, Steve Nelson, David Wong, Kyle Swan, and Bijon Watson.

The album's title, Tuesday Morning Feeling, aptly captures the overall atmosphere and ethos of the album. Uplifting, hopeful, and downright fun, the album embodies the sound of “starting the day with some optimism and little groove in step with the belief that there is good in the world.” Markley elaborates on this spirited approach: “It’s a nod to embracing the positive and embracing the generosity of the human spirit,” he says.

Practically, Markley captures this Tuesday Morning Feeling with a series of musical choices. Firstly, each piece was composed and/or arranged with a specific person (or people) in mind. Having worked with the majority of these musicians steadily since 2017, Markley is well acquainted with each person's musical personality and stylings, allowing him to cherry pick each person to perfectly evoke each emotion and gesture. Secondly, this album is musically centered around how Markley perceives and defines the modern big band: “swinging hard, grounded firmly in the tradition, and centered around giving the musicians space to be themselves.”

Tuesday Morning Feeling opens dramatically with “Tell The Truth,” a piece that speaks to the classic power and sound of the big band while showcasing the stellar prowess of its individual constituents. The piece opens with double stops from bassist David Wong, evolving into a hard-grooving walking bassline which captures the groove and feel and informs the audience that this piece means to swing. The band comes in and frames the melody in the beloved big band tradition before launching a sendoff for a fiery vibraphone solo from Steve Nelson. Nelson passes the baton back to the band, who creatively restate the melody before Markley enters with his piano solo. Continuing the spirit of the tradition, the piano and band have back-and-forth dialogue, leading to a saxophone soli, before hitting the final climactic solo brought forth by trumpeter Terrell Stafford.

Markley's writing continues to impress with “Snowy Range Blues,” a second-line blues with a swing section thrown into the mix. The piece showcases a duet with drums and horns before catapulting into a trifecta of solos from Steve Nelson, Steve Davis, and Terrell Stafford. “Steve Nelson’s solo on this one is just incredible. I can still remember looking around the room as we were playing and everyone in the room being in awe,” Markley shares. “After we finished the take, Nelson opened his recording booth door and the entire band gave him a round of applause!”

Other highlights of the album include “JIFE,” entitled after a “running joke of sorts” taken from combining the words “jazz life.” The piece is a blues in ¾ time with an Afro-Cuban groove and features standout solos by Remy Le Boeuf and Kyle Swan. Markley's arrangement of the Willard Robison standard “Old Folks” features and was arranged specifically for Terrell Stafford. The ballad is a piece that Markley and Stafford have performed together on many occasions and Markley scored this for big band as an ode to their camaraderie and to create a platform that truly spotlights Stafford's prowess.

A seminal part of Markley's genius is a mark shared by many of music's greatest composers: he wrote and arranged each piece with these specific musicians in mind. True to form, the ensemble and guests delivered marvelously. Ben Markley's Big Band on Tuesday Morning Feeling comprises: Wil Swindler, Remy Le Boeuf, Peter Sommer, Jared Cathey, and Sam Williams (saxophones); Darren Kramer, Steve Davis, Stafford Hunter, and Jon Gauer (trombones); Bijon Watson, Dawn Kramer, Terell Stafford, and Gabriel Mervine (trumpets); Ben Markley (piano), Steve Kovalcheck (guitar), David Wong (bass), Kyle Swan (drums), and Steve Nelson (vibraphone).

With Tuesday Morning Feeling, Markley successfully achieves his vision of clearly creating an oeuvre of work that encapsulates the sound of his writing and the personality of his ensemble. Beyond that, the audience can clearly tell that not only has Markley achieved this goal, but that he loves every moment of it. For Markley, this album is the culmination of “my tunes, my arrangements, me playing piano – all with my favorite people to play music with,” and the album exudes Markley's joy in this regard every step of the way.

Our Walk Live At Nocturne
Release date: October 11, 2024
Label: Self Release

For two uninterrupted months, Ben Markley - accompanied by his steadfast ensemble - was the house musician at Nocturne. This time was marked by constant growth as Markley and his ensemble night after night fine tuned, edited, and took spontaneous creative risks. The recurring performance opportunity acted as an incubator for ideas to grow and a forge for those same ideas to be refined into ever purer concentrations of excellence. Our Walk: Live at Nocturne, Markley’s newest album of all original compositions, is a live document without overdubs or studio edits of the conclusion of his band’s stay at Nocturne. It is a celebration of collaboration and companionship, and an homage to the timeless power of live performance.

As Markley and Mattson first began talking about the idea of an extended residency, the question arose of what should be done to make this period distinct. The answer, as given by the pair, was found in the music. The compositions present on Our Walk were all newly created to premiere at Markley’s residency. Furthermore, not only were the compositions new, but they signaled a new direction of style and writing for the pianist. “I wanted to write some compositions that were different from what I’ve done in the past – different grooves,

melodic phrases, and esthetics,” Markley says. “These are sounds that I like but haven’t

explored as much, and this album was a chance to do that.”

With a game plan firmly established, a date set for the residency, and a recording session at the club planned, all that remained was for Markley to write the pieces. Like many of history’s inspired writers, Markley’s ideation began with a muse. While muses have taken form in a myriad of ways throughout the ages, Markley’s muse is that of the truest kind: his wife. Married twenty-one years, Markley lovingly remarks, “She is and has been a constant source of inspiration from the day we met.”

Two of the album’s pieces in particular, Her Strength and Beauty and Our Walk, are specifically dedicated to and inspired by Markley’s wife. Her Strength and Beauty combines the straight eighth groove with a driving rock beat and comes to a head with a poignant solo by guitarist Steve Kovalcheck followed by the bandleader’s improvised piano feature. In his performance, Kovalcheck masterfully blends lyricism with his personal love for and knowledge of rock music. Markley’s piano solo is an exercise in pacing that never lets up once it begins. Starting with delicate, intentional melodies and building through swift double-time times, the solo culminates with robust octaves. As Markley aptly states of this track, “There is definitely some shredding.” The second dedication to Markley’s wife, “Our Walk”, stands as the album’s title track, further symbolizing her role as the genesis of Markley’s creativity throughout this process. The piece itself is a musical journey, and its trailblazers are undoubtedly Kovalcheck, Markley, and the album’s saxophonist, Wil Swindler, as epitomized by their masterful solos. “This tune is a ride, and Swindler takes the listeners along with him,” Markley says.

In a live album, a band’s chemistry and performance are highlighted to the listener above almost every other element. With no studio touch-ups to hide behind, musicians are forced to step up and test their mettle. Markley’s ensemble fearlessly met this challenge head-on and came out the other side with an outright success. The ensemble on Our Walk comprises Steve Kovalcheck (guitar), Wil Swindler (alto saxophone), Domi Edson (bass; tracks 1-5), Matt Smiley (bass; tracks 6,7), Andy Wheelock (drum set), and the bandleader, Ben Markley (piano). Of these musicians, Markley speaks his praise and gratitude. “Steve Kovalcheck and Wil Swindler are two of my dearest friends,” he says. “They are among the best anywhere and I’m very happy to have this documented with them.” He continues, noting the dedication of each member. “I’d like to thank Andy Wheelock, Domi Edson, and Matt Smiley for learning my music and taking care of each note. The collective work of this group and product we created is something I’m proud to share.”

Our Walk represents more than a recording session; it is the sonic testament to the artistry that occurs when relationship, collaboration, and inspiration intersect. This album marks not only a time and place, but a history of interpersonal connections that grew, flourished, and bloomed into a prismatic display of sound and meaning, all underpinned by groove and mastery and held together by the bandleader’s illustrious hands.

Ari's Funhouse
Release date: April 15, 2022
Label: OA2

Ben Markley is a pianist, arranger, 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.

This project’s inception began prior to the start of the arranging process. It began with an opportunity. In 2019, Markley and Hoenig found themselves slated to perform together at the Tarleton Jazz Festival in Tarleton, TX. As Markley began learning Hoenig’s music as preparation for this performance, he began to notice a depth of melodicism and harmonic genius that accompanied the evident rhythmic brilliance that is rightly associated with Hoenig’s music. A few months after their shared performance at that festival, Hoenig received a call from Markley asking if he could arrange some of his music, to which Hoenig happily agreed.

The arrangement and collaboration processes on Ari’s Funhouse are closely intertwined. Markley immediately recognized the unique compositional voice that Hoenig possesses, and sought to keep Hoenig’s voice as the defining authorial style throughout the arrangements. In order to pull this off, however, Markley needed to become intimately familiar with Hoenig’s vocabulary, both as a composer and performer. To do this, Markley began transcribing Hoenig’s solos and played with the original recordings for months, until the vocabulary was internalized. While this alone would have set the arrangements up for success, Markley sought to make this music as authentic to Hoenig’s voice as possible, and so the two began a regular correspondence. “Talking with Ari regularly helped me use elements from his musical language in my arrangements,” Markley says. “Many of the conversations were like ‘Ari, I think I’m hearing this.’ He would either confirm or explain and notate what I was hearing.” This collaborative process evidently works, as Hoenig himself was thrilled with the authenticity that Markley created. “When I first heard what he was working on the first thing that hit me was the quality and attention to detail he gave in each of the arrangements,” Hoenig says. “He really took the rhythmic language I use and included it in the arrangements while at the same time bringing in his creative unique voice.”

The opening track on the album is Markley’s arrangement of “Birdless,” a concept that sets the tone for the album and a piece that showcases Markley’s arranging abilities far beyond the skills typically required for a big band arranger. Featuring solos from saxophonist Wil Swindler, guitarist Steve Kovalcheck as well as Markley and Hoening themselves, this track oscillates between normative and irregular phrase lengths and meters. Moreover, Hoenig’s solo is framed by ensemble interjections and horn solis, creating a dramatic and interactive soloistic dialogue. At the middle of the album’s track order stands “Bert’s Playhouse,” a piece that begins in a second line feel with a bass feature from Evan gregor and evolves over time to become an intricate work of solos and contrapuntal craftsmanship. Using a writing device that Markley describes as “rhythmic hooks,” the chart is united by these thematic landmarks throughout, based on Hoenig’s vocabulary, which provide a frame through which he accompanies the band. Powerfully, this chart also features a constantly developing solo section over which Wil Swindler performs masterfully. Starting at a two-chord vamp, dropping to a duo texture of saxophone and piano, and then rising to a grandiose climax, this is described by Markley as “one of the best solos on the record.”

The second half of the album continues with Markley’s arrangement of “Arrows and Loops,” one of Hoening’s most famous compositions. Set in 11/8, this piece is a soloist’s tour de force that highlights the rhythm section’s ability to lock and take the music to a multiplicity of places. Lastly, the album closes with “Green Spleen,” a contrafact composed by Hoening to Thelonious Monk’s “Green Chimneys.” Described by Markley as a “raucous, electric-driven party,” and by Hoenig during rehearsals as “a drunken party.” Utilizing a blend of written parts, collectively improvised cacophonous elements, and tempo changes of the sort utilized by Hoenig in his small group performances, “Green Spleen” is one of the most well-suited closers for an album and ensemble of such an ambitious ilk.

A project as audacious as this certainly does not occur in isolation, and in addition to Markley and Hoenig, the lineup of musicians in the big band was stellar. On trumpets: Peter Olstad, Greg Gisbert, Dan Jonas, and Alan Hood. On trombones: Adam Bartczak, Paul McKee, Rob Borger, and Jon Gauer. On saxophones: Wil Swindler (a.s., sop., fl.), Scott Turpen (a.s.), Peter Sommer (t.s.), John Gunther (t.s.), and Sam Williams (bari). Beyond the headliners, the rhythm section includes guitarist Steve Kovalcheck and bassist Evan Gregor. The skill and dedication in this personnel is remarkable, and was lauded by Hoenig himself. “I had no idea what a happening scene Denver was for jazz,” Hoenig says. “There are so many bad cats there of all different generations. Ben really took advantage of this Denver scene while putting together this dream band.”

With Ari’s Funhouse, Ben Markley and Ari Hoenig show the sheer power and absolute musical joy that can blossom from a fruitful collaboration between great minds. Ari’s Funhouse is a testament not only to skillful performance and masterful writing, but to the creative spirit of musical giants trusting each other to learn and make something wondrous together.