MARK'S BIO

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                                   MARK R. HARRIS---bassist / composer
 

Mark Harris is an incredibly accomplished musician; a fine player/composer/performer whose talent and expertise will grip your attention.
 

Born in Montréal, Canada and reared in Buffalo, New York, Mark has been playing musical instruments of all sorts since the age of four and has been performing professionally since the age of sixteen. He has worked worldwide in every imaginable type of venue, playing every imaginable type of music.
 

Mark’s first love is acoustic string bass, but he is completely at home on an electric instrument, up to and including seven-string fretted and fret-less bass guitar (for which he has an endorsement from Conklin Musical Instruments). His musicality, vast knowledge and stylistic range are truly amazing! He plays everything with equal power and perfection. His musical interpretations are flawless--whether he’s playing his own compositions or those written by others. His original material is refreshing, with a lyrical feel, punctuated by interesting, memorable melody lines and a dynamic rhythmic quality.
 

Mark smiles and laughs easily, on stage or off, a natural reflection of his love for life and people. He is a pivotal cohesive force in any group of musicians with whom he works. He is a joy to make music with and anyone who has ever had that pleasure would agree! That list includes such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Enriquez, Vassar Clements, Mel Tillis, Bobby Vinton, Al DeLory, Joe Porcaro, Wilfredo Reyes Sr. Mary Wilson, Bobby Rydell, Maureen McGovern, and Little Anthony and the Imperials.
 

As you experience his energy, his playing, his tunes, his performances, his genuine passion for music, you will know that Mark Harris is truly a master.

MARK R. HARRIS---bassist / composer
 

(615) 604-9093

EDUCATION:

 •State University of New York at Buffalo, majoring in Performance and Composition
 

•Private study on acoustic bass with L. Berriman and D. Coffman, Jazz department,
University of Miami
 

PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVES:
•Playing acoustic and electric basses in a professional musical environment
•Writing arrangements and charts for performance and recording
•Composition, recording and performing of original works
 

EXPERIENCE (listed by styles):
                                                           •SHOWS:
•Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, backing Bobby Rydell, Jerry Lewis, Jerry Van Dyke, Al Martino as well as playing shipboard production shows

•Norwegian Cruise Line, backing Rita Moreno, Maureen McGovern, Chubby
Checker, Carl Perkins, The Ink Spots and shipboard production shows 

•Pit orchestra player in the South Florida area for shows such as Deco After
Dark (Fontainbleu Hotel, Miami Beach, 1991) and Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Fort
Lauderdale Performing Arts Center, 1990) 

 •Acoustic and electric bass player, actor, and vocalist as “Eddie”, original
Broadway cast production,Pump Boys and Dinettes (Branson, Missouri,
September 1993 through December 1993)

•Bassist for Bobby Vinton, The Lennon Brothers, Mel Tillis (Branson,
Missouri, 1994 through 1995)

•Bassist for New York road production of Kander & Ebbs’ The World Goes
‘Round (Seaside Performing Arts Center, Daytona Beach, FL, 1996)

•Acoustic bassist, musical director, arranger for DaVido, 1996 to early 1999

•Acoustic and electric bassist for Vassar Clements with the Florida Symphony
Orchestra (Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, February 1997)

•House bassist at the Mirage International’s Beau Rivage Casino/Hotel,
Biloxi, March - September 1999

                                        •POP, ROCK and COUNTRY:
•Bassist with the Downchild Blues Band (Attic Recording Artists) opening for
James Cotton, Albert King, Koko Taylor (Canadian Tour 1979 - 1981)

•Recording bassist and vocalist with world beat band Kamuka (artist
development by Island Records and Bill Graham, New York 1987)

•Performance and recording bassist for Miami based singer/songriter Peter
Betan, opening for Michael McDonald, Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, Styx (South Florida 1988 through 1992)

•House band bassist for Miami Beach’s Woody’s Night Club Band featuring
Bobby Keyes (sax player for the Rolling Stones) 1989 through 1991

•Electric bassist for well known Miami based R&B band, IKO-IKO (South
Florida 1990 through 1992)

•Performance and recording bassist for Omar Mesa of Mandrill (Warner
Brothers Records) (South Florida 1990 through 1992)

•Acoustic and electric bassist for Mel Tillis (Branson, Missouri 1995)

•Acoustic and electric bass and vocals with James Patrick Lynch
(Nashville, Tennessee 1996 through present)

•Acoustic and electric bass, vocals and co-writer with the legendary Vassar
Clements (Nashville, Tennessee and national tours 1996 through present)

•Live performance bassist for 1998 tour of David Freeman, British performer/songwriter best known for Annie Lennox’s “No More I Love Yous”

•Bassist for various 1999 performances of Little Anthony and the Imperials

                                                     •JAZZ BASSIST:
•Acoustic and electric bassist backing such renowned artists as Dizzy
Gillespie, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Enriquez, Larry Coryell, Anita O’Day,
Lou Donaldson, Freddy Cole, Al Delory, Kenny Warner, Sandy Patton,
Barry Reise, Joe Pocaro, Wolfredo Reyes,Sr., Stan Lassiter, Phil Keaggy

                                              •TOURS and FESTIVALS:

 include Sunfest (West Palm Beach), Hollywood
Jazz Festival (Hollywood, Florida), Franklin Jazz Festival (Franklin,
Tennessee), Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society Festival (Nashville,
Tennessee), Miami Jazz Festival, Richie Franks (percussionist for such greats as   Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Cochran, Herbie Hancock) European Tour

•U.S. Tour with the Dorsey Big Band conducted by Buddy Morrow, 1999

                                         •RECORDING SESSIONS:
•National and regional ads including Sea-Doo, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Black’s Cameras of Canada, Deancare Health Systems

•Numerous industrial video soundtracks in both United States and Canada

•Canadian Broadcasting Company staff bassist

•Free-lance on-call demo and master session bassist for various studios in Buffalo,New York, Halifax,Nova Scotia, St. John’s,Newfoundland, 

Miami, Florida, Branson, Missouri, Nashville, Tennessee

•Artifex Records Third Coast Jazz Recording artist

•On-call acoustic and electric bassist for world renowned RCA Studio B and
Studio C (Nashville, Tennessee) 

•Bassist and composition collaborator for Bizzy Bone (Bone Thugs and Harmony) featured on sound track for the motion picture, “Blade” (1998)

•Bassist for and co-writer with Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns on his
solo project "Sweet Medicine Music (1998)

•Various cuts with British Performer/Composer David Freeman

•Bassist on Opening Ceremonies Theme Recording for MCI Center,
Washington, D.C. (1999)

•Tres Hombres Records artist Rosanna Hill’s 2001 cd, “Close Enough”

•James Patrick Lynch 1999 release, “Perfect Life”

Numerous Recording projects in the western new york area 2007 to the present