Feed the Fire Hannah Marks

• 1 Aggro 05:41
• 2 Feed the Fire 04:29
• 3 When Day Becomes Night 05:11
• 4 The Dark Knight 05:20
• 5 Unconditional Love 04:33
• 6 Mushi Mushi 03:57
• 7 Room 157 05:14
• 8 Speedy Side 05:52
• 9 Mountains 06:35
• 10 Fan Club 05:09
• Total Runtime 52:01

Info for Feed the Fire

Hannah Marks makes a monumental creative step with her sophomore album, Feed The Fire, (releasing June 12, 2026 on Endectomorph) featuring her fierce, risk-taking acoustic jazz quartet of Nathan Reising (alto saxophone), Lex Korten (piano) & Steven Crammer (drums), delightfully blending modern, straight-ahead, and avant-garde. The album, produced by Jason Moran, celebrates her burning passion for jazz in its various forms, her staking a claim as a NYC bassist and composer, relishing the musical journey she is on, and sharing with her bandmates and her audience the freedom to explore, play and experiment.

The compositions on Feed The Fire, all written since Marks moved to NYC in 2019 (at Moran’s urging), are informed and defined by the energy of the city. Grooving, odd meters and raucous swing conjure up the hustle, bustleand energy of the streets, while free, ethereal songs reflect the few quiet moments stolen in city parks. Marks explains that, “Feed the Fire is a culmination of many meaningful musical experiences I’ve had over the past decade, and a representation of pushing and dedicating myself as an artist to find new musical colors, shades and directions within this music that I love and revere.”

The title track, “Feed The Fire,” composed by the late, great Geri Allen has been pivotal in Hannah Marks’ life and musical journey. The bassist explains that, “when I moved to NYC from Bloomington, IN after Jason Moran encouraged me to make this life change, one of the first performances I saw in the city was Moran’s trio at the Village Vanguard. The way this trio performed “Feed the Fire” radicalized how I think about swing. They were far more unfettered and uninhibited than I was at that point. I’m an Aries, which is a fire sign, and since that night, I’ve adopted ‘Feed the Fire’ as my personal motto and mantra to stay inspired and to keep this fire I have for this music going strong.”

Other highlights on Feed The Fire include “Aggro” which nods at the influential programming of NYC venue, The Jazz Gallery, the complexity of compositions by Ambrose Akinmusire, and a Moran-inspired coda. “When Day Becomes Night” was born out of a serene moment during Marks’ Artist Residency at MacDowell, and features drummer Steven Crammer, one of the few players on the scene who can handle a seismic rhythmic shift such as the one Marks presented him with here. “Room 157” reflects on Marks’ love of multiple genres, and finds alto saxophonist Nathan Reising and pianist Lex Korten really going for the jugular. The slippery rhythmic aspects of the composition, “like shifting meters or phrases that are shorter than one might expect, were influenced by my time studying modern jazz compositions with Walter Smith III at Indiana University,” explained Marks.

Balancing out the density of the recording is a palette cleanser of sorts, and another composition from Geri Allen, “Unconditional Love,” beautifully, heartachingly, played here by the duo of Marks and pianist Korten. Feed The Fire closes with “Fan Club,” “a tune that came to me quickly one night after seeing my pianist, Lex Korten, perform with the great saxophonist Melissa Aldana. The form is loosely inspired by the hero’s journey - beginning with the ‘Call to Adventure’ in the opening vamp and melody. The solo section transforms into the challenging abyss of the free drums and bass solo, with our hero returning triumphantly with the final melody. We channeled the fusion era sonically, echoing Cannonball Adderley’s album Phenix (from 1975) while simultaneously adding a contemporary free jazz twist,” stated Marks.

Here we are a few short years later and the bassist/composer/educator asserts herself, her artistry, her vision for this album, and her wonderful sound and seemingly effortless facility, resulting in a completely au courant recording which hits hard and gets down deep into the nitty-gritty of modern jazz coming out of NYC.

“We discover several soft or energetic, warm rhythms that fuel a subtle and light groove that captures all the ease of this talented bassist, Hannah Marks…Her simple, direct dialogue reinforces this approach with precise rhythms, adding a touch of perfect elegance. The repertoire flows with inspiration, featuring magnificent, changing rhythms and improvisations with freedom of interpretation, opening up bop jazz swing textures that blend together beautifully. She also offers a new evolution through greater diversity of rhythms, whose energy and delicacy, with her luminous exchanges and liveliness, explore a complicity through her dialogues spiced with generosity, not to mention the magnificent arrangements that complete this great evolution.” — Alain Dupeux

“The bassist has a way of giving riff tunes an extra bounce, an animation that might usually come from a drummer. Whether it’s a Geri Allen nugget or one of her own pieces, such as “Room 157,” the buoyancy she brings to the table helps fashion her still-evolving artistic persona. With the acoustic quartet record Feed The Fire (Endectomorph) arriving in early June, Marks is helping deliver updates to the mainstream jazz lingo. Live renditions of her own “Aggro” and Dewey Redman’s “Mushi Mushi” suggest that feistiness is zero problem, and with Jason Moran in the producer’s seat, her sophomore disc is surely one to anticipate.” — Jim Macnie

Hannah Marks, double bass, bandleader
Nathan Reising, alto saxophone
Jonathan Paik, piano
Steven Crammer, drums

Hannah Marks
is a bassist, composer, and educator living in New York City. She currently leads a risk-taking acoustic jazz quartet that features NYC’s most in-demand sidemen, and has showcased her musical projects at festivals like the Detroit Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, 80-35 Music Festival, Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival and Indy Jazz Festival. Produced by Jason Moran, her second album, Feed the Fire, will be released in June 2026 on Endectomorph.

Marks’ debut album, Outsider, Outlier, is an explosive rendering of her search for belonging and empowerment. A nod to her love for punk, noise and free improvisation, Outsider, Outlier released on Out Of Your Head Records on October 20, 2023. Citizen Jazz called Outsider, Outlier “…a very mature record from a young artist with very strong ideas who does not hold back anything.”

As a side-woman, Marks has been described as having “a fresh, modern, and original approach to playing the bass” by Marcus Printup. Marks tours internationally with NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater's project “We Exist!”, and has performed with Geoffrey Keezer, Nasheet Waits, Terri Lyne Carrington, Anna Webber, Miles Okazaki, Ingrid Jensen, Kalia Vandever, Matt Wilson, Ted Nash, Morgan Guerin, Marcus Printup, and Sasha Berliner. Marks’ discography includes playing on Geoffrey Keezer’s Grammy award winning composition “Refuge”, Amanda Ekery's Grammy nominated Arabé, Kristen Lee Sergeant’s Falling with saxophonist Ted Nash, and Heartland Trio’s debut album Year One.

Marks is passionate about jazz education, serving on faculty at Fordham University during the academic year, and at Interlochen Arts Camp, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and Jazz Camp West during the summer. She has also presented masterclasses at universities across the country (Brown University, Indiana University, and University of Denver) and adjudicated at the Reno Jazz Festival, Clark College Jazz Festival, and Simpson College Jazz Festival.

“One to watch.” NEA Jazz Master and vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater

“In her short time in New York, it's already obvious that she {Marks} is laying the foundation for a long and successful career in music." Saxophonist Walter Smith III

This album contains no booklet.