On Sunday, December 21 at 7pm at Soapbox Gallery Mark Tipton will release his new album, Vernacular Stretch. The ensemble will play the album material live at Soapbox Gallery, and the performance will also be live-streamed. Vernacular Stretch features original compositions by Mark Tipton scored for jazz sextet and octet, and is dedicated to the memory of his jazz trumpet mentor at the New England Conservatory (NEC), John McNeil (1948-2024). McNeil was a mainstay on the Brooklyn jazz scene for decades, and taught at NEC for roughly forty years. This album was self-produced by Mark for his company, Mark Tipton Music Productions, LLC.

Vernacular Stretch showcases the talents of several rising stars in jazz, including vocalists Aviana Gedler and Pitiki Aliakai, saxophonists Annalise Stalls and Gabriel Nieves, trumpeter Mark Tipton, trombonist Joey Dies, pianist Keegan Marshall-House, guitarist Kai Lance, bassist Daniel Mayer, and drummer Caleb Montague. For this performance, Brooklyn-based vocalist Nedelka Prescod will replace Aviana Gedler.

Vernacular Stretch includes the following works: "Vernacular Stretch," "Blue Heron Voyage," "Lament for Glaciers," "Paradoxical Dreams," "Avaricious Beauty," "A Healing Touch of Madness," "Ineffable Consciousness," "Peace Invocation," "Galaxy Bird," and Mark's arrangement of Henry Mancini's ballad, "Moment to Moment." 

Vernacular Stretch will be released on streaming platforms on Friday, December 19, and will also be available as a double-CD set starting on Sunday, December 21.