Mark Kramer

Mark Kramer is a Philadelphia jazz musician born on November 3rd, 1945. Although not widely recognized, he is highly regarded among fellow musicians for his talent and skill on the piano. Critics have compared his style to that of other famous jazz pianists like Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and Herbie Hancock, but his unique harmonic vocabulary and pianistic style (as reviewed) set him apart. As of 2023, Mark Kramer's projects tend to intertwine elements of structured and free jazz, combining sparseness and complexity to create emotionally-driven strories /"tunes".

Kramer began his musical training on the violin with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of six, but later shifted his focus to bass, saxophone, and piano in mid- teens. He then played piano regularly with other local jazz legends such as Randy and Mike Brecker, Charles Fambrough, Stanley Clarke, Eric Gravatt, and Sonny Fortune. Many musicians would gather at Kramer's apartment for jam sessions and recordings, creating an unwritten piece of jazz history.

Kramer was likely best known for his early work with the Mark Kramer Trio, which began as an acoustic-electric-fusion group in the late 1970s and later evolved into an acoustic chamber ensemble. The trio performed regularly at clubs and concert halls, winning several awards and commendations. They also backed many guest artists/soloists at Si Ristorante Jazz in Philadelphia, including Junior Cook, Lee Konitz, George Coleman, Johnny Coles, Al Cohn, Lee Konitz and many others.

For 12 years Kramer served as the Jazz Director at Ye Olde Temperance House, a club in Bucks County, PA, where the Mark Kramer Trio was the house band. The group played with approximately 300 acclaimed guest artists mostly from Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York. The club received Philadelphia magazine's Best of Philly Award in 1999. 

In the late 1990s, Mark Kramer's trio released a jazz interpretation of EVITA on Telarc International Records. Despite commercial success and critical acclaim for Kramer's sound, reviewers criticized his choice of source material. (In 2009, Kramer admitted to creating the recording as a "jazz farce," hoping the industry would appreciate the art and craft, but he overestimated their response. ) 

Kramer's place as the then 4th jazz pianist in TELARC's catalog (alongside Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, and McCoy Tyner) likely irked some jazz veterans/ journalists,  For example, public radio's PIANO JAZZ (Marian McPartland, R.I.P. 2013), blocked Kramer from appearing, despite petitions from two record labels, and more than a few prominent friends of the show's host.  Immediately upon receiving in 2006 a promotional copy of "Art of the Heart", widely acclaimed as a brilliant and intimate impressionistic, at times grooving,  duo recording by Kramer and Eddie Gomez, the show's host invited Eddie to appear with her, without Kramer. As Mark tells it with a twinkle, "Eddie's requests for me to appear with him (a BASSIST) on PIANO JAZZ, were met with, 'What can he [Mark] do that I [Marian] cannot."     (That particular broadcast after 2013 was been re-titled by the producers as Piano Jazz with Eddie Gomez and Mark Kramer.) 

After leaving Ye Olde Temperance House around 2001, Kramer had been featured as a headliner at Zanzibar Blue.  He returned to performing mainly in Philadelphia's city proper, often at a local club called Chris' Jazz Cafe. As the house pianist, he worked closely with the club's management and was instrumental in bringing in notable musicians such as George Coleman, Lee Konitz, Lew Tabackin, Randy Brecker, Jeremy Steig, Eddie Gomez and others to play with his trio. In that same year, Chris' Jazz Cafe won the "best Casual Jazz Club in Philadelphia award."

In the years that followed, Kramer's trio recorded about 7 more jazz versions of complete Broadway shows.  Upon release of his other CDs, Mark performed at Birdland (NYC), and for extended engagements at the Iridium and other leading jazz venues and Festivals throughout the world.) 

In 2001, Mark and Eddie Gomez, who played with pianist Bill Evans for 11 years, decided to collaborate again. They formed the Eddie Gomez-Mark Kramer Production Company and Trio, remixed and cataloged three CDs worth of their old recordings, and recorded a fresh version of their trio's Jazz Fiddler on the Roof. The new version was praised by the show's composer, Jerry Bock, as a "true transformation" and a "masterpiece." (Today, they continue to perform together in each other's groups and as co-leaders on joint projects. In 2010 they with Joe LaBarbera continuously toured Italy in 10 concerts/festivals in "Tribute to Bill Evans," )

In 2002,  Mark's Trio recorded Harry Potter Jazz, vol. 1 based on the score by John Williams. The CD was delayed due to Warner Brothers but was eventually released internationally. In 2003, Mark co-produced a "Tribute to Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee" and later that year engineered "Stonejazz," a Rolling Stones tribute album that charted in the top 20 nationally. In about 2005, the trio recorded Mozart's Symphony in G minor in a jazz rendition. Thus, Mark had recorded several dozen records as a leader and sideman, and had lectured at universities on the Art of the Jazz Trio , Jazz Harmony, and composition.   Overall Mark has to date (2023) recorded about 500 tracks in assorted jazz styes, plus his symphony, concertos, and tone poems.   Many are available at his website. 

Before teaming up with Eddie Gomez, Mark Kramer aimed to attract new jazz fans, but his unconventional approaches did not make a significant impact in the industry. He believes that this approach may have harmed his reputation with the core jazz audience, but he has no regrets and wishes he had communicated his intentions more clearly. 

Eddie Gomez and Mark Kramer continue to work together.

Despite never having had classical piano or a music theory education, Mark was invitited by Daniel Perez to lecture at Berklee College of Music in 2019.      

Mark Kramer's Other Life

Mark Kramer's jazz career was not his sole focus until 2001-2, as he worked as MD and PhD, professor at University of Pennsylvania while also heading Clinical Psychopharmacology at Merck Research Laboratories for 80-hour weeks. Despite being a first author in the premier Journal of Science, his high-profile medical career was often unknown to his jazz collaborators, and his jazz career was unknown to his scientist colleagues. He kept these areas of his life separate until about 2012. In 2004, his house and recording studio were destroyed by a fire, and it took until 2007-8 for him to rebuild his life and home.

As WRTI's Jack Buerckle once stated,  despite being a self-effacing musician, "Mark Kramer is regarded as a genius by his peers, including Eddie Gomez, Charles Fambrough, Gary Mazzaroppi, Khan Jamal,  and Joe Chambers. When he and Eddie Gomez play together, they are considered to be the best pianist combination in the world today, evoking a taste of heaven that Miles Davis would have appreciated." 

~ Jack Redmond (original 2004) updated by Kurt Seigel (personal manager), June 2010, updated in 2023 by Cristina Coleman. USA)

Awards

Early 1980s: "Best" Philadelphia jazz pianist,"Best" Philadelphia piano trio

1985, 1987, Kramer was selected nationally as a top undiscovered jazz pianist by the judges and creators of the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition (winning 3rd place. )  

 

Gear

In order of Importance
Steinway B Hamburg :)
DPA mics - any
Neuman mics - the older ones
Preamps - Great River, Millenia Media, DAV, others
Lynx 96 channels up to 192kHaz
ProTools
Adam S series monitors