For those unaware, it was nearly fifty years ago that a teenage Mark Masters, then an aspiring young jazz trumpeter, first encountered the sound of trumpeter-flugelhornist Tim Hagans, who was playing in the Stan Kenton orchestra.

Over the years, as Masters evolved into one of the most acclaimed composer-arrangers of his generation, he collaborated frequently with Hagans and came to know him as a singular talent. Tim is a true original, Masters says. He’s developed his own harmonic language, which not many people have done.

And, in truth, the term sui generis - a Latin phrase meaning one of a kind - absolutely applies to him. Indeed, Sui Generis (due out October 4th, 2024 via Capri Records), is an album-length showcase for the trumpeter, placing him front and center of the composer’s own idiosyncratic Mark Masters Ensemble.

Originally conceived as featuring Hagans within a showcase of jazz standards, the project evolved into what Masters now calls a kind of a concerto for chamber orchestra. Ever shifting in personnel and instrumentation, the Mark Masters Ensemble maintains two constants in all its variations: an extremely high bar of musicianship, and a taste for Masters’ distinct, unconventional aesthetic.

In this case, the Ensemble positions Hagans alongside two saxophones (Nicole McCabe on alto and Jerry Pinter on tenor and soprano); Dave Woodley’s trombone; John Dickson’s French horn; and the rhythm section of pianist Jeff Colella, bassist Chris Colangelo and drummer Kendall Kay.

Hagans’ place in the spotlight, Masters is keen to stress, shouldn’t diminish the importance of these other musicians on Sui Generis. They’re all active participants and collaborators in this whole thing, he says.

Even though it’s orchestral music, it’s still an improvised music; spontaneity and surprises happen, and all you can do is smile and look at your fellow musicians and marvel, because you know that their surprises will make the music better.

And that is at the heart of what all jazz records should be.

1. Doyle Hud’s Two Step
2. The Stoic
3. Deep Pools
4. Velocity
5. Interlude
6. Waxing and Waning
7. Pebbles
8. Meet Me At Sal & Angies
9. The Hammer

This elegantly styled, expertly impassioned new recording opens on the delightful dance floor swirls and twirls of Doyle Hud’s Two Step and then brings us the gently furtive The Stoic, the languishing, late night drawl of Deep Pools and the upbeat and joyful Velocity.

Along next is an aching, yearning refrain found within Interlude and that is in turn backed by the soaring Waxing and Waning, the low slung, melodically charming Pebbles, the album rounding out on the perky, upright bass-led Meet Me At Sal & Angies, closing on the dutifully charged The Hammer.

Line-up/Musicians:
Tim Hagens - trumpet
Nicole McCabe - alto saxophone
Jerry Pinter - tenor and soprano saxophones
Dave Woodley - trombone
John Dickson - french horn
Jeff Colella - piano
Chris Colangelo - double bass
Kendall Kay - drums
Mark Masters - compositions

Official Website