Pure Mark Isham collects 14 cuts from the award-winning composer/trumpet player.
Isham is a difficult artist to put in a niche, and especially hard to compile a comprehensive overview for. This Windham Hill collection focuses mainly on his crossover jazz/ethnic fusion projects like
Tibet and
Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project, relegating his vast arsenal of film scores to a mere two cuts ("Seeking Isaiah" from 1995's Losing Isaiah and "Pittsburgh 1901 (Theme from Mrs. Soffel)"). While both are decent tracks,
Isham provided far better scores for films such as River Runs Through It, Nell, and Crash, and not including a better cross-section of the genre that's become his bread and butter makes this compilation more of a sampler than a true representation. ~ James Christopher Monger