
Testimonial
Working with Theo Wanne and their horns and mouthpieces is an extraordinary pleasure as a recording artists. Their horns compare with the “Big 4” in every way and are better in many ways too – some of the best altissimo and full range response of any horn I’ve played. I play on their Gaia2 Hard Rubber tenor piece and it’s a bold, very responsive and brilliant mouthpiece. Once I changed over from the vintage Berg Larson hard rubber piece that I’d been playing on for decades, I never looked back. Incomparable in every way. My main and only soprano I play is Theo’s Mantra and it’s hands-down the best soprano I’ve ever played on, and that’s comparing it to the Selmer Mark VI & Super Action 80 series 2, Yamaha 675 & 875. My secondary tenor is Theo’s Mantra Tenor and it’s a joy and almost transparent switch from my main horn, which is a vintage silver Selmer Mark VI. Bold, powerful, rich, seductive and brilliant in every way.
Biography
Mark Fox, tenor & soprano saxophone and kamal/donso ngoni (Malian harp) player, bandleader, composer/songwriter,
recording artist, and producer has participated for over 25 years professionally in the
international music and entertainment industry. Blessed at an early age, many legends of
music came into his life such as maestros Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef, Marion Brown, George
Garzone, George Clinton and a host of others. These masters became
profound teachers, mentors, friends and colleagues, bringing Fox
into the deepest levels of the music world.
During Fox’s decade and a half in New York City, he had the honor to
perform with such greats as Warren Smith, The Boys Harbor Big Band,
George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, Archie Shepp, The Violent
Femmes, Eugene Chadborne, and a numerous of other groups and
high level artists. Mark’s career in music tapered while living in Paris,
France, though continuing to play with less frequency, he was
blessed to perform with greats such as Steve McCraven, Hervé Samb,
Rassul Siddik and others.
Over the past years, Mark Fox has returned to his passion for the music with a fervor like never before,
and is currently leading several iterations of his bands. Releasing his debut album as a bandleader
in 2016, “Three Octaves Above the Sun”, with a powerhouse, sold out performance at Dazzle Jazz in
Denver, and winning “Best of 2016” from allaboutjazz.com. Fox is currently preparing for the release of
his forthcoming album, Mark Fox – “Iridescent Sounds”, produced by legendary, multi-Grammy Award
Winning producer & NEA Jazz Master, Todd Barkan, on Humble Genius Records. The band is working towards bringing the band’s powerful, transcendent and unique sound to the world stage.
Mark Fox’s core members include Felix Ayodele – guitar, Peter Stoltzman – piano, Troy Robey – bass, Tom
Tilton – drums and special guests Daniel Moreno – percussion, Malick Koli – drums, Jimmi Hopps –
percussion, Hugh Ragin – trumpet, Robert Johnson III – vocals, Yolanda Bush – vocals and legendary
West African singer, Awa Sangho.
In December of 2018, Fox returned to the
recording studio to record a unique, David
Bowie influenced, cross-genre album of
pop-structured songs done in a jazz/gospel/
afro-beat way, that is creating a new sound
and genre of music. The project stems from
an epic recording & reinvention of a David
Bowie song, “Word on a Wing” that inspired
the executive producer to finance, and Fox to
write and arrange the music for this forthcoming
project.
Fox is an endorsed artist with Selmer Paris,
Conn-Selmer USA, Theo Wanne Mouthpieces, Oleg Products and a number of other boutique professional manufacturers. Most recently, Mark Fox has been engaged by Redwood Entertainment, a powerful, well established artist management group based in New York City and has memorialized global publishing deal with 1630/Heights Music Publishing.
A global branding and marketing push is beginning to strategically bring Mark Fox to the global stage over the next few years. Keep a lookout for this naturally charismatic showman of the highest order.
More About Mark Fox
Discography
Three Octaves Above the Sun – 2016
Iridescent Sounds – 2020Inspiration
Q:Describe the feeling when your music is working just right.
A:I am a conduit for the music. I don’t have the experience of playing music, but being played by the music, this is why and where the discipline of practice, meditation and having the right tools come into play. When the “music is working just right” everyone is locked as a unified unit and I am in the thoughtless, timeless, endless space of nothing…and of course when the audience goes wild, I know we’ve done our job.
Education
- Berklee College of Music
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Studied with Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef, Marion Brown and George Garzone
Videos
Images
Soundclips
Three Octaves Above the Sun – Sampler
Links
Mark Fox Jazz