Pianist - composer Mark Isaacs (b. 1958) is following a distinguished career which
has earned him international acclaim in both classical music and jazz.Mark began piano studies at age five. He then undertook University studies in classical piano and composition initially in Sydney, at the same time emerging as one of the major jazz players in Australia. He recorded his first jazz album as leader while barely out of his teens.
From his early 20s Mark travelled extensively, and as well as a busy professional life he spent time investigating jazz in New York and Europe, studying piano and composition at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, doing a conducting course with Sergiu Celidibache and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, finishing his Bachelor of Music degree in classical composition and piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and ultimately completing a Master of Music degree in classical music at the Eastman School of Music (U.S.) In 1996 he was awarded a two-year Music Fellowship by the Australia Council for the Arts.
Since then Mark has travelled the world, composing, performing and recording classical music and jazz, both as a soloist and with his trio. For a more detailed biography, click here
The Mark Isaacs Trio, formed in 1986 is one of the most enduring and distinguished ensembles in modern Australian jazz.
The group's international touring activities have included a
fifteen-city tour of Russia in 1995 which culminated in a performance
in Moscow's famous Tchaikovsky Hall. Local festival engagements have
included the Perth Festival, the Wangaratta Jazz Festival , Bellingen Jazz Festival,
Mostly Mozart, and Musica Viva Mittagong. The group has released several CDs, one
of which is a collaboration with internationally acclaimed UK-based
trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler.
Their latest jazz CD, Keeping the Standards,
recorded live at The Basement, Sydney (February 2004) received rave reviews in the Australian
and international press and was celebrated by an extensive Australian tour by the trio
during February/March/April.
The trio's bassist is long-standing member Ben Waples, who recently toured Europe. At this concert the drummer will be Evan Mannel, who was raised in the Shire, touring overseas with the Kirrawee High School Stage Band. He has since gone on to tour with such luminaries as James Morrison.
Both as a solist and with his trio, Mark Isaacs is a unique and treasured Australian commodity.
'...intelligent, sometimes dark, sometimes thorny and always bittersweet.' Sydney Morning Herald
'...the product of a splendid musical mind.' Los Angeles Times