But lets rewind for a second and learn a bit more about how Mark got started in music. Initially, he started as a classically trained trumpet player and played with the San Francisco and Oakland Symphonies for a number of years. Later, though, his focus shifted towards jazz and pop/rock acts: “I discovered jazz along the way and was mentored by John Cappola for many years. He was absolutely one of the best teachers I’ve ever experienced and really contributed to my overall sense of musicianship as well,” Mark shares.
“I also worked with many pop and rock acts during that period, including Carlos Santana, Boss Scaggs and Jerry Garcia. For 6 years, I played with and arranged for Van Morrison, making six records with him and touring all over the world. My jazz career included stints with Horace Silver, Charles Lloyd, Art Lande and many other great musicians of the San Francisco Bay Area. And eventually, I started a band called Group 87 with whom I went on to record 2 albums. Soon after that I embarked on a solo career with Windham Hill Records and made a number of records for them. So yes, it all started with simply playing as much music as I possibly could.”