9, 10 & 11 July - Mark Turner - Special Show
The Sound of Swing & Soul

Mark Turner is a jazz multi-instrumentalist working across saxophone, guitar, and voice, shaped by the rhythmic language of swing and the expressive freedom of blues-based improvisation. His musical approach is grounded in core jazz practice: phrasing that breathes, melody that leads, and improvisation shaped in response to the ensemble rather than apart from it.

Based in Perth, Turner’s development as a jazz musician has been formed through ensemble performance, where interaction and listening define the centre of the music. His work alongside swing-oriented groups such as Adam Hall and the Velvet Playboys, as well as appearances with larger ensembles including the Perth Symphony Orchestra, reflects a practice shaped by both discipline and adaptability within jazz contexts. Alongside this, his work has been recognised through multiple music awards, including four performance-related honours and a cabaret award at Perth Fringe World Festival, as well as a nomination for WAM Song of the Year in his debut year as a songwriter and a semi-finalist placement in the Unsigned Only competition.

Within this continuum, Turner works through jazz as a language built on listening. Moving between swing-era repertoire and blues-tinged ballads, he approaches each phrase with space and restraint, allowing rhythm and harmony to guide expression in real time. Across improvisation and standard forms, his focus remains on tone, placement, and the subtle interplay between silence and sound.

Rather than separating identity into roles, Turner works from within the continuity of jazz itself, where voice and instrument exist in the same expressive space. His playing reflects a restrained sensibility shaped by swing tradition, allowing the music to unfold naturally through shared direction, attentiveness, and improvisational conversation.