Mark Winkler: Hold On

  • Post author:
  • Post published:
  • Reading time:2 mins read

Mark Winkler

Hold On

Catalina Jazz Club, Hollywood, CA, August 28, 2025

Reviewed by Mary Bogue

Mark Winkler

As if Mark Winkler ever needed to hold on to anything! At Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood, he proved once again that he’s not tethered by earthly bounds. As he celebrated his birthday and the release of his new CD Hold On, Winkler was soaring above his contemporaries, on the jazz charts, and rapturous applause from a packed house.

With world-class assists from Rich Eames (piano), Grant Geissman (guitar), Gabe Davis (bass), Dave Tull (drums), Danny Janklow (sax), and Matt Frumke (trumpet), Winkler opened with a sizzling take on “Old Devil Moon” (Yip Harburg/Burton Lane). Janklow’s sax set the tone—bright, playful, and sophisticated, just like the man at the microphone.

The songlist showcased tunes from the new CD. Dave Frishberg’s “A Little Taste” was lifted by Eames’s piano groove and seemed made for the charts. “It Was a Very Good Year” (Ervin Drake), reimagined by arranger Jamison Trotter, gained a surprising new vitality. Winkler’s own “I Could Get Used to This,” brought to life with Geissman’s liquid guitar lines, turned into an ultra-cool meditation on love’s ease.

What sets Winkler apart is his storytelling. His “Train in the Desert” (Greg Gordon Smith/Mark Winkler), inspired by a Georgia O’Keeffe painting, turned Catalina into a moving canvas. The lyrics clicked along like a train on railroad tracks, and Tull’s brushwork summoned the rhythm of memory. The title track was both a groove tune and an anthem that urged us to be resilient when life pressed hard.

Winkler wove tenderness into “I Dream of You Each Night” (Spencer Day/Mark Winkler), a ballad of forbidden love, and sly humor into “The Devil Doesn’t Want a Saint” (Marilyn Harris/Mark Winkler), a cheeky tale of dating-app misadventures. His range—soulful crooner, sly humorist, lyrical poet—shimmered all night.

As the show ended, the crowd was reluctant to break the spell and wasn’t ready to leave. As they drifted out into the Hollywood night, Winkler’s rhythms and words clung like perfume and guided them home. If Hold On is about finding strength, then this show proved why Mark Winkler remains one of cabaret’s most vital, jazzy, and soulful storytellers. The album is available on all streaming platforms.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mary Bogue

Mary Bogue’s journey into the world of jazz began in 1981 when she was accepted by the Monterey Jazz Festival to cover the event as a writer. It was there that jazz tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate introduced her to the legendary vocalist Helen Humes. Their interview, later published in Jazz Dispatch and distributed at the Playboy Jazz Festival, marked the beginning of Bogue’s deep connection to jazz and storytelling. One unforgettable moment came when Humes introduced her to Count Basie, saying, “Bill, this is my friend Mary. Mary, this is Bill.” That simple introduction sparked a lifelong love for jazz and a passion for writing. Among her early interviews was a conversation with the legendary Les McCann, a connection that would come full circle years later when McCann joined Bogue on her debut album, Don’t Go to Strangers, released in 2012. The album, celebrated with a launch party hosted by KJZZ, gained national airplay and recognition. Her follow-up albums, Blue Smoke and One Night of Sin, further solidified her place in the jazz world. In 2015, Bogue was honored as a Living Legend of Jazz and recognized by the Duke Ellington Society, the United States Congress, the State of California, and the City of Los Angeles. Her cabaret career took off at the iconic Gardenia in Hollywood and continued in New York at the Metropolitan Room. That same year, she joined Cabaret Scenes Magazine as a reviewer of both cabaret shows and CDs, continuing to champion jazz and cabaret through both performance and the written word. In addition to her accomplishments in music and journalism, Mary is also an accomplished visual artist. She has designed album covers and created a wide range of artwork, including oil paintings of blues singers and expressive watercolors. Her visual work, much like her music, reflects her deep passion for the soul and spirit of jazz and blues.