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Mark Gross

Mark Gross swings and sings with soul and rhythm along today's jazz vanguard. He constantly pushes the music forward, while staying true to the elements of the classic sound. Mark Gross has recorded on over 80 notable jazz recording, including 2 GRAMMY AWARD winning projects by the Dave Holland Big Band - 'What Goes Around' on ECM Records, and 'Overtime' on Dare 2 Records. Mark’s recordings 'Preach Daddy' on King Records and 'Riddle of the Sphinx' on J Curve Record and 'Blackside' on Jazz Legacy Productions have all received rave reviews."

“As record concepts go, 'Riddle of the Sphinx' is one of the most clever to come down the pike...Mark Gross is a sax man deserving wider attention who is blessed with a rich, pure tone...Clearly one of the orders of the day for jazz album projects is the conceptual approach....he has successfully plotted and delivered this course, arriving at a package that is fresh, original, and served up by a cohesive band of fine players. Could we ask for anything more?" Willard Jenkins-regular contributor to Jazz Times, Downbeat, and Jazz Report Magazine

"Gross is a new and powerful alto sax player who is a Cannonball type player. As you may presume ... funky is his flavor. He...shows his modern modality which is reflected in his sound." Takao Ogawa-Swing Journal, Japan

Gross recently signed and recorded his latest recording ‘Blackside’ for his new record label JAZZ LEGACY PRODUCTIONS (JLP). This will be released in October 2012.

His consistently professional musicianship has led to live and recorded efforts with many of his fellow pacesetters in jazz music. Mark has toured the world with the Mark Gross Quartet, Philip Harper, Nat Adderley, Dave Holland, Mulgrew Miller, Nicholas Payton, Delfeayo Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, Jimmy Heath, Dizzy Gillespie Alumni Big Band, Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Tom Harrell Big Band, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Frank Foster and the Loud Minority, Charles Mingus Big Band, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Harrison, Mark Whitfield, Joe Dukes, Captain Jack McDuff, Joe Chambers, Neal Smith, Cyrus Chestnut, Regina Carter, Lionel Hampton, Stephon Harris, Walter Booker, Jimmy Cobb, Don Braden, Vincent Gardner, Lenora 'Zenzalai' Helm, Marlon Saunders, SEPIA, Jann Parker, Buster Williams 'Something More' Quartet to name a few. His professional relationships with these musicians and others have been long lasting and far- reaching.

Mark credits his prolific sound to the rich appreciation for Gospel music that resounded through his parent's Baltimore home.

Mark has performed on Broadway several times, as well. He performed in 'FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE' (1992-1993) based on the music of Louis Jordan. 'KAT AND THE KINGS' (1999-2000). This musical explores the joyous sounds that were born out of oppression during the 1950's in Cape Town, South Africa; APARTHEID. This is a rollicking rock-'n'-roll musical. Mark has also added to the exciting musical that showcased music of the same title, 'SWING' (2000-2001). Mark has also appeared in 'Malcolm X' (1992), Spike Lee's major motion film.

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Album Review

Roseanna Vitro: Sing a Song of Bird

Read "Sing a Song of Bird" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Roseanne Vitro is one of those jazz singers who falls into the category of “I recognize the voice, but I just can't seem to place her." She has more than a respectable discography which stretches back to 1982, when she released her debut album Listen Here for the Texas Rose label. Her fall 2021 album, Sing A Song Of Bird, is a combination of abundance of attitude and perseverance, since it is composed of two separate sessions (one recorded in ...

23
Album Review

Andy Farber and His Orchestra: Early Blue Evening

Read "Early Blue Evening" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Saxophonist Andy Farber's New York-based orchestra came together and cut its teeth as the onstage band for three hundred performances of After Midnight, a Broadway revue that paid tribute to Jazz Age nightclub luminaries from Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie to Harold Arlen, Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh. As one might presume from the orchestra's provenance, echoes of Ellington and Basie can readily be discerned on its first recording since After Midnight closed in 2014--but Farber, who wrote ...

5
Album Review

Derrick Gardner & The Big dig! Band: Still I Rise

Read "Still I Rise" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Trumpeter Derrick Gardner, a Chicagoan who has performed around the world with a who's who of jazz luminaries from Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Foster to Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennett and Harry Connick Jr., to name only a few, traveled to Winnipeg, Canada, to assemble and record his Big Dig! Band, several sizes removed from Gardner's sextet, The Jazz Prophets, a working group since it was formed in New York City in 1991. Gardner not only shines as trumpet ...

277
Album Review

Mark Gross: Riddle of the Sphinx

Read "Riddle of the Sphinx" reviewed by Dave Nathan


Alto/soprano saxophonist Mark Gross and his cohorts carry on in music man's fascination with trying to solve the riddles associated with Egypt's greatest monument the Sphinx. The first track, the mysterious sounding “Valley of the Dry Bones" establishes the overall setting for what's to follow over the next 50 or so minutes, viz., Middle Eastern musical themes built on Gross' probing sometimes querulous soprano. But on the next track, “Moses In Egypt", there's a discernable feeling of hope created, again ...

147
Album Review

Mark Gross: Riddle Of The Sphinx

Read "Riddle Of The Sphinx" reviewed by Jim Santella


What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?

Man.

Cue the drummer’s rim shot followed by a bass drum thud. Then give the philosophical riddle a thought or two about how we begin our lives by moving cautiously, move into the fast lane for awhile, and then settle down later on with experience at our side. Along the way we hope to absorb and understand as many special impressions as ...

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Education

Jazz For Teens Education Program Celebrates 25 Years Of Impacting Thousands Of Young Musicians

Jazz For Teens Education Program Celebrates 25 Years Of Impacting Thousands Of Young Musicians

Source: AMT Public Relations

Spring semester January 21-May 13, 2023, every Saturday @ 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Special 25th anniversary performance May 13, 2023. The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) ,the state’s anchor cultural institution, celebrates 25 years of offering thousands of high schoolers from Newark and beyond music lessons and performance experiences through its popular TD Jazz for Teensprogram. One of the first of many arts education institutions at NJPAC, it has grown into a nationally recognized and revered program producing stellar alumni ...

“As record concepts go, 'Riddle of the Sphinx' is one of the most clever to come down the pike...Mark Gross is a sax man deserving wider attention who is blessed with a rich, pure tone...Clearly one of the orders of the day for jazz album projects is the conceptual approach....he has successfully plotted and delivered this course, arriving at a package that is fresh, original, and served up by a cohesive band of fine players. Could we ask for anything more?" Willard Jenkins-regular contributor to Jazz Times, Downbeat, and Jazz Report Magazine

"Gross is a new and powerful alto sax player who is a Cannonball type player

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Kevin Huang
saxophone, alto

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Early Blue Evening

ArtistShare
2021

buy

Sing a Song of Bird

Skyline Records
2021

buy

Still I Rise

Impact Jazz
2020

buy

Blackside

Jazz Legacy Productions
2012

buy

Riddle of the Sphinx

J Curve Records
2001

buy

Riddle Of The Sphinx

J Curve Records
2000

buy

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