Feed the Fire

Upcoming shows: 2/19/26 Smalls Jazz Club // 3/10/26 Blues Alley // 3/11/26 Georgetown Day School // 6/26/26 The Jazz Gallery (Album Release) // June Midwest tour TBA!

Current quartet lineup: Hannah Marks as bassist and bandleader, Nathan Reising on alto saxophone, Rahul Carlberg on piano, and Steven Crammer on drums.  

Press: Red Cat Publicity redcatjazz@mac.com

Label: Endectomorph endectomorph@gmail.com

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.