Mark Wade, a modern jazz composer and bassist, is a bold and versatile musician who enjoys creating great music in all its forms without the limits of a particular genre. Alongside renowned contemporaries like Keith Jarrett, Wynton Marsalis, and Esperanza Spaulding, he has earned critical acclaim and been named one of the top bassists of the year for five of the last six years in the Downbeat Magazine Reader’s Poll. Moreover, as the founder and director of New Music Horizons, Mark is committed to promoting the groundbreaking work of emerging jazz and classical composers. His concerts are held at prestigious venues such as the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Flushing Town Hall, The Clemente Cultural Center on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Sunnyside Community Services in Queens, and Art House Astoria. We had the privilege of catching up with Mark to discuss his remarkable career and passion for music.
Mark, a pleasure to catch up. For those unfamiliar with your background, what inspired you to become a musician?
I did not study music from a young age and really had no interest in joining any organized musical activities when I was in grade school. Around the time I was entering high school, a number of my friends started getting into playing the guitar. I was late to join this trend, so a number of them suggested maybe I try playing the bass. I knew nothing about the instrument and had never considered playing it before, but once I picked it up, I was hooked right away. Looking back, I’m very lucky they made the suggestion.
You studied under bassist Mike Richmond at New York University. How did this experience shape your appreciation of music?
Mike has had a profound influence on me as a musician and as a person. Mike is a world-class player, having played with the likes of Miles Davis, David Bowie, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The range of his musical knowledge and experiences are not ones easily replicated. Besides teaching me the fundamentals of musical practice, Mike instilled in me a strong professional work ethic which I have found to be just as important to sustaining a professional career. To play music at a high level takes a lifetime of study and practice, but it takes zero talent to show up on time, have a good attitude, and be prepared to play the job at hand. Mike gave me a very clear and realistic picture of what life as a professional musician would be like in New York and that really allowed me to hit the ground running from the beginning. It’s very rare to find someone who both teaches and plays at the highest levels. Mike certainly can do both.
You’ve collaborated with a considerable number of jazz contemporaries, including James Spaulding, Eddie Palmieri, Conrad Herwig, Harry Whitaker, and Stacey Kent, among others. These collaborations must have been highlights in your career, but is there a particular collaboration that stands out as a milestone or turning point?
Certainly, all of those names listed above, have been milestones in my career. Anytime you get to play with someone who is playing music at that level, it provides an excellent opportunity to grow as a musician yourself. There’s just no way to replicate the experience of being on a stage making music with people like that.
One that stands out is something that happened just a few months ago. I had the great opportunity to work NEA jazz master Gary Bartz on a Masterclass, recording session, and concert through my faculty appointment at Lehigh University. Gary’s body of work with Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, and so many others speaks for itself. At 83 years old, Gary is still going strong. Getting to play with him with certainly one of the highlights in my career. it was also very illuminating to hear his thoughts on Jazz education as he is also an accomplished educator himself. Someone who has had a lifetime of experience operating at the highest levels of jazz is a treasure trove of information. We were all very fortunate that Gary was generous with his time and sharing a little bit of his knowledge.
Your album True Stories pays tribute to several jazz musicians who have influenced your music. Out of all the artists you reference, is there any particular individual who has had a significant impact on your approach to working as a professional musician and composer?
If I had to pick one person who’s had the biggest influence on me, I would say it is Wayne Shorter. His work as a composer, both on his solo projects and with Miles Davis’s group from the 60s has been a tremendous influence on me. Even before I truly understood the inner workings of jazz music, I was drawn to Wayne’s music both as a player and as a composer. His incredible soulful concept of melody, his ability to sound modern yet never complicated for the sake of complexity is in my opinion one of his great hallmarks. Even though Jazz can be a language of harmonic complexity, I feel it is essential we never lose sense of melody. Wayne is the embodiment of this idea.
Looking back at your time as a young student, what is the most important lesson you learned about becoming a professional musician?
I think the most important lesson was in order to become a professional musician, it takes the highest level of dedication over a sustained period of time to make it in the music business. People sometimes congratulate me on “making it in the music business”. I always answer that I haven’t made it in the music business. I’m making it every day. To be successful in this business, you have to be dedicated every single day. It never really ends.
What’s your favorite album of all time, and why?
I hesitate to list one album as my favorite of all time since no one album can ever encapsulate all the things I love about music. One of the first jazz albums I bought was Miles Davis‘s “Miles Smiles“. That’s still one of my favorites. It’s a little wonder that that band has had a big influence on my musical direction. Miles’s “Sketches of Spain“ is another big one for me. Bill Evans is another big influence on me. I would say his album “Sunday at the Village Vanguard“ is another album I listened to a lot when I was younger.
Please tell us more about your company New Music Horizons
New Music Horizons is a small nonprofit that I have that is dedicated to promoting the new works of emerging and mid-career jazz and classical composers. As a freelancer in both the jazz and classical music scene in New York, I have often seen the frustrations that composers have representing new works to new audiences. Sometimes venues are hesitant to take a chance on music that they think may be unfamiliar to their audiences. I started this organization as a grassroots response to try to give more outlets for people to present their new music. Certainly, it’s an idea that is dear to me as I am a composer myself. It’s been amazing to see the response from audiences that may not be typically exposed to either new jazz or classical music. Audiences variably are interested and curious to hear new things. We also have the composers speak a little bit about their music to the audience so they have some context for the music that they’re about to hear. A little of this description seems to go a long way into helping people connect to the music.
We’re eager to know all about your current tour! Could you kindly share your schedule with us, and give us a glimpse of what audiences can expect?
I have finished my tour of the UK/EU for the spring of 2024. It was two weeks abroad with concerts and teaching in the UK, Switzerland, Sweden, and Germany. It was an eclectic group of projects that included playing my music in the UK, a collaboration with a saxophonist in Sweden, and concerts with an American vocalist in Switzerland that culminated , and a live recording session for Dot Time Records in Augsburg Germany. It was quite rewarding to get to play a wide range of music with a number of different talented players.
Aside from the touring schedule, what projects are in the pipeline?
I just finished up a small string of concerts here in the States with my band in New Jersey and Maryland. Now I will be finishing up teaching the semester at Lehigh University where I am an adjunct faculty member of the jazz program. I also have several freelance jobs coming up as both a jazz and classical bass player. I am a regular player for the Bronx Opera Company, which will be having its final production of the spring coming up in May followed by an orchestra concert in June. I’m in the process of scheduling a number of concerts in the fall with my band and preparation for recording our next album which we anticipate heading into the studio for sometime in early 2025.
Where can our followers find out more about you and New Music Horizons?
You can reach out to me my personal website markwademusicny.com or at newmusichorizons.org. On the socials, it’s @markwadebass on Twitter and Instagram and mark.wade.319 on Facebook.
Photos by Dennis Connors
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