about MARK KRAMER
“He is a piano giant. His playing moves the modern mainstream of jazz forward, combining together his early influences and his formidable technique with fresh ideas that form his own individual voice.”
— Scott Yanow, critic and jazz journist
SHORT Bio
Philadelphia, PA.
Raised just a block down from John Coltrane's home, Mark Kramer enjoys a productive, colorful, and creative career as an improvising pianist (live performance - clubs and concerts - and recording), arranger-composer, producer/engineer, and occasional educator.
Jazz Style is METAMODERN* Impossibly melodic + technically-adroit + oscillates between understated to fully-stated modernism and postmodernism - - - paying homage to Hancock, Tyner, Evans, Glass, Riley.
Bragging rights: Twice nationally recognized as a top undiscovered jazz pianist, described as innovative, elegant, and emotionally riveting by the Great Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition judges (including Teddy Wilson.) He went on to record ~ 40 CDs (including those globally distributed by major record companies (Telarc/Concord, Lightyear, Warner EA) with his trio, as well as many with a close collaborator - acclaimed bassist Eddie Gomez.
Mark's credits include concertizing with some of the most celebrated of jazz musicians like George Coleman, Lee Konitz, Al Cohn, Tal Farlow, Jimmy Cobb, Joe Chambers, Billy Drummond, Charles Fambrough, Junior Cook, Archie Shepp, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Stanley Clark, Bud Shank, Bobby Watson, Johnny Coles, and scores more.
An untoward series of life responsibilities required Kramer to take long breaks from many of his music activities from about 2013-2022.. Yet his daily ritual of filling notebooks with advanced jazz theory (with full throated testing at the piano) never ceased. Despite tracking the huge developments and brilliant new players entering international jazz scenes, his full reengagement at this time is clear: by the end of 2025 three new non-derivative collections (already completed) are scheduled for release prior to the end of 2025.