BIOGRAPHY PAGE

MARK SHANE
Piano

Mark Shane’s jazz piano is firmly rooted in a tradition established by such jazz piano masters as James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Earl Hines and Art Tatum.  While developing his solo style, Mark served an extended tenure as house pianist in New York’s “Eddie Condon’s” jazz club, adding a distinctive new voice to the Condon tradition of hot ensemble playing.  He has played with Benny Goodman, Buck Clayton, Buddy Tate and many other All-Star alumni from the great bands of Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller.

Mark has been featured on radio and television jazz special broadcasts and has appeared as a featured soloist at major jazz festivals worldwide.  He has toured for Columbia Artists and with the Smithsonian Jazz Repertory Ensemble under the direction of Bob Wilber.  Featured in the 50th Anniversary Benny Goodman memorial concert at Carnegie Hall, Mark has also played jazz piano for the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, as well as for the Grammy-Award-winning soundtrack of the film “The Cotton Club.”  Other film work includes the soundtracks to “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blues,” “Working Girl,” and numerous films made for television.  Recent recordings include “Blue Room,” “On Treasure Island,” “What Would Santa Say?” and his acclaimed solo piano CD, ”Riffles,” which was a Jazz Journal International Record of the Year in 2005.

For Carnegie Hall’s 100th Anniversary celebration, Mark accompanied hosts Beverly Sills and Barbara Walters.  He played a royal command performance of Duke Ellington’s “The Queen’s Suite” for HRH Princess Anne at London’s Festival Hall.  Featured with many of New York’s premiere popular dance orchestras, Mark has played for society and debutante cotillions throughout the United States, for Presidential Inaugural Balls in Washington, DC, and for the Mayor of New York City at Gracie Mansion.  Mark has also played private parties for Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, Estee Lauder, Arnold Schwartzenegger, and for openings and fund raising events at major libraries, museums and cultural centers throughout the United States.  He is regularly featured at Lincoln Center’s “Midsummer Nights’ Swing” concerts.  Corporate audiences such as IBM, AT&T and others have also enjoyed Mark’s piano in NYC’s finest hotels and clubs, including the Waldorf Astoria, Plaza, St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, 21 Club, and more.

Named to the Steinway international roster of piano artists, Mark Shane has been called “…one of the great accompanists of his time” (Mississippi Rag).  Mark’s piano, featured on many recordings, reflects a true sense of living jazz history and continues the tradition of buoyant swing and lyrical melodic improvisation that is Classic Jazz Piano, America’s unique musical contribution to world culture. Visit Mark on the web at www.shanepianojazz.com