Mercy, mercy, mercy! How can music like this come out of Fargo, North Dakota! Oh yeah, it's the "undisputed jazz Mecca of the Western world.") Here, Russ' musical "palette" assimilates the traditions of the past as he borrows from Cannonball's "funky-jazz" side with a tip of the hat to Maceo Parker. In this up-beat version of the Joe Zawinul standard, Harley sets the mood with a big, fat, beef-steak sound on bari. Russ' solo, played within a funky-jazz context, employs an intense tone quality, extreme range, and colorful note choices. A four-part canon based on the main theme follows.
(Wow, a cannon! For Cannonball? I wonder what caliber. Oh. sorry, different spelling.) A rubato section leads back to a crazy, gospel vamp group improvisation to conclude the arrangement.

Mercy Mercy Mercy

So, I told my son that I needed to write some liner notes for FOUR's latest CD (take note of the word "latest." Doesn't it make it sound like we've been around a long time and have numerous releases? It's quite true that this is our "latest" CD; it's also our first CD). Anyway, my son told me that he would say, "Dude, we finally made a CD... I'm so stoked... It's got some chill tunes on it!" I think this means that it's a good CD and we are happy about it. It's probably best that I avoid using exogenerational colloquialisms such as dude, stoked, or chill. I was even warned away from hip or dig. That's probably a good idea, as I am most definitely not hip (if you don't know what that means, I'm not going to tell you). You see, I took a gig (Oops, that's one of "those" words. Sorry.) at a university so I wouldn't have to dig. Dig? Some years ago I accepted a job "way out west" and left the jazz mecca of the Western world (Fargo, North Dakota. Yes, really.) and the famous Hard Bop Saxophone Quartet. I was off to "bigger and better" things at Brigham Young University-Idaho (a great school, recruiting with the CD is not beneath me) in the thriving metropolis of Rexburg. Anxious to start a new quartet, I looked around for "like-minded reed suckers" (reference the HBSQ CD liner notes, also penned by yours truly) and found.…. potatoes. There appeared to be many opportunities for music here, as the local radio stations (both of them) actually played both kinds: country AND western (OK, old joke, but true story). Upon deeper investigation, several "jazzers" (as some classical colleagues refer to my race) were observed in cities with close proximity to Rexburg. Of course, "close" is relative and particularly accurate when one moves the decimal point one integer to the left. About Brent Jensen's (alto) recording, The Sound of a Dry Martini, Michael Bettine, jazzreview.com writes, "His playing is sure footed, yet carries a sense of ease that flows through each tune. If this is the sound of a dry martini, then make mine a double. Highly recommended." Sandon Mayhew (tenor) is featured on over 50 albums with artists including The New Trio and The Hi-Tops. Jon Gudmundson (baritone) has garnered three Downbeat Awards, including two for Outstanding Jazz Instrumental Performance. I have a quote too (as I lift my head high, puff out my chest, and suck in my gut). About my composition and arranging, Jazz Times states,"...Intense, no-nonsense jazz charts.…clever, inventive arrangements." wonder what words are supplanted by the ellipsis dots. All of us teach at some university or other (Mark: BYU-Idaho, Brent: College of Southern Idaho, Sandon: Albertson College, Jon: Utah State University), but we hope that hasn't hurt our playing any. With personnel found, we needed a name. We tried Summit since we are surrounded by beautiful mountains here, but we felt that might sound like we're trying to pass ourselves off as the pinnacle of all saxophone quartets, and besides, there's a Summit brass ensemble already. We thought of Rocky Mountain Saxophone Quartet following the tradition of groups such as Quatuor de Saxophones de Paris or 29 Street Saxophone Quartet. But, Rocky Mountain made us think people would call us for asquare dance gig and we didn't think we could handle country AND western without lessons from Boots Randolph. It was suggested that we name the quartet after a person but who ever heard of a quartet named MARK, or BRENT, or JON, or SANDON? (I know they meant something like Harvey Pittel Saxophone Quartet or Osland Saxophone Quartet, but they're not in our group.) With all this in mind, we decided on FOUR. With the classical radio station announcer's voice let me introduce, "Notes from the Composer." (That's me.)

Requiem

The House That My Father Build

Chim Chim Cheree

My Funny Valentine

Doctor Brother's Music Box

There Will Never Be Another You

Of Things Hoped For

Hot House What Is This Thing Called Love

Snakes

An educator, Watkins has been teaching for over 30 years and is currently Professor of Saxophone at Brigham Young University–Idaho. He has taught courses in jazz studies, music history and literature, music theory, music education, and applied instruction in all five woodwinds. He has also coached and directed ensembles ranging from jazz big bands to orchestra and concert band to jazz combos and classical woodwind chamber music. He has had to find new and original ways to continue fulfilling his responsibilities with the onset of complete blindness since 2018. He uses sunglasses along with the cane so people will get out of his way and not trip on the cane. He is not serious when he tells students he intends to put a cattle prod in his cane.

Mercy Mercy Mercy

Mark Watkins Saxophone

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