Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 16, 1991 TAG: 9102160112
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Tracie Fellers
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He made his professional debut as a trumpet player with a small symphony orchestra at age 12. By high school, he was expanding into jazz. And in his early 20s, he took on electronic music.
With his latest release, a self-titled solo album, Isham decided to devote himself to top-notch trumpet playing. As one might expect from a musician whose technique and style have led to comparisons to Miles Davis, the result is expressive and engaging.
He brings his tour, featuring Doug Lunn on bass, David Goldblatt on keyboards and percussionist Kurt Wortman, to Roanoke's Iroquois club on Monday. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 on the day of the show. Doors open at 8 p.m.; the show starts at 9 p.m.
"For the last four years, I've been composing film scores and both myself and my audience may have lost sight of the fact that I'm a trumpet player and that's what I really love," Isham said in a news release.
He has written scores for a number of films, including last year's "Reversal of Fortune" and 1984's "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk," an Oscar-winning documentary. Isham's discography also lists other solo albums, group albums, movie soundtrack albums and albums and videos for children.
His latest album "focuses me as a trumpet player and makes a more concise communication in general to widen my audience," Isham said.
The album, which includes lush, atmospheric pieces like "Honeymoon Suite" and "I Never Will Know," a moody ballad composed and sung by Tanita Tikaram, is already a critical success. It's been nominated for a Grammy award for best New Age performance.
***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on February 18, 1991.
Because of a reporter's error, a song title was incorrectly identified in a story in Saturday's Extra section. "Honeymoon Nights" is one of the songs on trumpeter Mark Isham's self-titled solo album.
Memo: CORRECTION