Biography
Job Title: Senior Lecturer
Courses Taught: BA (Hons) Music (Jazz)
Specialisms: Jazz Trumpet, Session work
Mark is one of the top trumpet players in the UK, working internationally and making a living until recently as a session player in London.
At the age of eleven Mark joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and started studying with Henry Lowther at the age of thirteen. He turned professional at the age of sixteen working in Mecca Ballrooms for a couple of years and left to work with Matt Monro for three months. During the following few years working freelance in London he worked with Humphrey Lyttelton, Shorty Rogers, Nancy Wilson, Gladys Knight and the Pips.
From the late 80s, Mark was increasingly booked as a session musician working in London with a cross section of artists from Grace Jones, The Pogues, Shirley Bassey, George Michael and film and TV sessions. He also worked on most of the current West End Shows such as Miss Siagon, Cats, Guys and Dolls, Starlight Express and City of Angels as well as 1st trumpet with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra on a production of West Side Story. TV work included Royal Variety shows, Wogan shows and many variety specials.
During these years, Mark was getting known as a jazz player working as a member of the Johnny Dankworth Big Band, a tour with George Russell’s Living Time Orchestra. Guesting with the BBC Big Band as a section member and jazz soloist working with Canadian Band leader, Rob McConnell and Bobby Shew amongst many top jazz names. Playing with the great drummer Elvin Jones at the Soho Jazz Festival is a wonderful memory.
More recently, Mark was a regular section member of the Syd Lawrance Orchestra and featured soloist also working with the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, Andy Scofield / Jo McCallum Big Band alongside Mike Walker and Stuart McCallum, We Three Kings run by Tobe Greenwood and Jamil Sheriff’s Big Band.
Mark is now concentrating on jazz tuition working as senior Lecturer at Leeds Conservatoire and devoting his time to playing jazz with the intention of making a duet album with a number of prominent UK jazz artists. As part of this, he spent a week studying with Bobby Shew learning his methods of teaching embouchure development. An album ‘The Quiet Band’, ‘Lullabies and Dreams’ is due out late 2014 featuring Mark as soloist.
Performances:
Marvin Hamlish, Barbara Streisand, Don Weller, Duncan Lamont, Clark Tracy, Pete King, Tony Coe, Vic Damone, Al Martino, Modern Romance, Shirley Bassey, Nancy Wilson, Jack Jones, Neil Sedaka, Matt Monroe, The Drifters, Frankie Valli, Lena Horne, Johnny Mathis, Elvin Jones, George Russell, Don Weller, Duncan Lamont, Clark Tracy, Bobby Shew, Ted Heath Big Band, Jack Jones, George Michael, Johnny Dankworth, Cleo Lane, Alan Ainsworth, Harry Rabinovitz, Lena Horne, Harry Connick Jnr, Ian Carr, Nancy Wilson, The Drifters, Mari Wilson, Annie Ross, Buddy Grecco.
