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Mark Winkler
Mark Winkler is a platinum award winning singer/lyricist who has had over 200 of his songs recorded and/or sung by such artists as Dianne Reeves, Randy Crawford, Liza Minnelli, Bob Dorough, Jackie Ryan, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Lea Di Lauria and Britain’s Claire Martin. He also has charted high on the Jazz Week charts with his last 4 vocal releases. He was also included as a 2014 ”Rising Star” Male Jazz Vocalist in Downbeat Magazine.
He will be releasing his new CD “Jazz and Other Four Letter Words in August 2015. After his last two recordings that were tributes to Laura Nyro and the musicians of the 50s West Coast Sound, this CD once again finds Mark mixing his own originals with songs by the likes of Paul Simon, Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough and Rodgers and Hart. He is once again joined on this recording by Cheryl Bentyne for two songs, the duo released the highly regarded ‘West Cost Cool” CD in 2013. For his new project, he has an all-star cast of musicians headed by John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, Larry Koonse, Jamieson Trotter , Pat Kelley, Mike Shapiro, Dan Lutz and Bob Sheppard.
In June of 2015 he has four of his lyrics featured on the new David Benoit/Jane Monheit CD “2 In Love” which just received a four star rating from All Music Guide. This comes on the heels of more and more of his songs being recorded by the best singers in Jazz.
He has played in clubs in Los Angeles, in New York at the Blue Note and Birdland and has sung in London, Tokyo and Australia. As part of “West Coast Cool” with Cheryl Bentyne he has performed at the Syracuse Jazz Festival and in Tuscon, Arizona, Toronto, Canada and Madison Wisconsin among many other cities.
As an educator he teaches lyric writing “Crafting Great Lyrics: A Songwriters Workshop” at UCLA extension and at the Los Angeles School of Songwriting. He writes columns for Music Connection magazine and does interviews and reviews for LA Jazz Scene.
He also produced Joanne Tatham’s CD “Out of my Dreams” which reached number 25 on the Jazz charts this year. He is preparing to go in the studio producing new projects for Lauren White and Miki Purnell.
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Mark Winkler: Late Bloomin' Jazzman
by Edward Blanco
Veteran singer, platinum-selling lyricist and songwriter Mark Winkler delivers his twentieth album as leader, Late Bloomin' Jazzman, beginning with a George Gershwin standard, ending with a Gershwin tribute and, in between, presenting romantic ballads, a bit of swing and a touch of bossa. An educator at UCLA who teaches the art of songwriting, Winkler brings this remarkable talent to the fore on this album, providing his own lyrics to seven of the twelve songs which he suddenly realized “talk about ...
Continue ReadingMark Winkler: Late Bloomin' Jazzman
by Richard J Salvucci
Anyone who can hold their own on a stage on in a studio with Cheryl Bentyne cannot be all bad, right? Even if one's taste runs more to Harry Connick, Jr than to Mark Murphy, it is difficult not to get seriously into Mark Winkler. Oh, he can sing, for sure, but even if he could not carry a tune, he is a lyricist for the ages. Not all ages, mind you. But for those of a certain age, sensibility, ...
Continue ReadingMark Winkler: Old Friends
by C. Michael Bailey
The appeal of singer and lyricist Mark Winkler is not that he has an outstanding vocal instrument. Rather, it is uniquely unique; easily identifiable. Winkler has what Broadway composers once called a “lyricist's voice." It is a voice of a song writer that is honest and genuine and that is where Winkler gets to the listener. A serious artist, he never sounds as if he takes himself too seriously (much like Dean Martin). And, therein lies his charm. Winkler's voice ...
Continue ReadingMark Winkler: I'm With You
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Regarding tribute albums--a seemingly endless flow these days -it's a rarity when the honoree, the material and the performance mesh so perfectly. Los Angeles vocalist/songwriter/educator Mark Winkler's I'm With You fits that description to a T--in this case Bobby Troup. This effort, a hip, hip array of Troup's iconic material is a marvelously presented and performed gem. Troup was a fascinating and prodigious talent--vocalist, pianist, composer and actor. His written material and recordings were always “with it," ...
Continue ReadingBirthdays Make Strange Bedfellows
by Mary Foster Conklin
Many common birthdays in this broadcast. In the second hour, Laura Nyro shares her day with hipster Bobby Troup, who celebrates his centennial this month; followed by a shout-out to Dizzy Gillespie, born the same day as Beat poet Fran Landesman, whose songs will be highlighted in the final hour. Playlist Miggy Augmented Orchestra “The Hi Hat Man" from Colorful (ArtistShare) 00:00 Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis “I Can't Give You Anything But Love" from ...
Continue ReadingMark Winkler: The Company I Keep
by Dan Bilawsky
The Beatles had it right when they noted that we get by with a little help from our friends. It's a fact that vocalist Mark Winkler can surely testify to. In the wake of losing his husband, Winkler found the comfort and strength he needed through the company he keeps and in the music that feeds his soul. That's the beautiful story behind this jazz soirée. The company of which the title of this record speaks is ...
Continue ReadingMark Winkler: The Company I Keep
by C. Michael Bailey
The utility of music, at its very core, is entertainment. It is not all about dissonance and consonance, tonal conflict and resolution; heart and intellect, pathos and ethos. Somewhere in everything music has to offer, there must be a smile. It is in music's smile that vocalist Mark Winkler exists. An elegant West Coast mainstay, vocalist/lyricist/composer Winkler, drove across my radar first with his 2011 recording Sweet Spot (Café Pacific Records). I was struck by how well Winkler could skirt ...
Continue ReadingSinger/Songwriter Mark Winkler Tops JazzWeek Chart And Receives Wide Acclaim For 'Late Bloomin’ Jazzman,' His 20th Album, An Homage To Aging
Source:
Mouthpiece Music
Late Bloomin' Jazzman, Mark Winkler’s 20th album, released in April 2022 on his Café Pacific Records label, may be his homage to aging, but the 72-year-old singer and songwriter is not about to slow down any time soon. Each of his previous projects has received stellar reviews and consistently topped the jazz charts, and his latest offering may be his most successful yet. Late Bloomin’ Jazzman spent 11 weeks at the top of the JazzWeek radio chart, peaking at #7. ...
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Vocalist/Lyricist Mark Winkler Teams With Pianist David Benoit For 'Old Friends'
Source:
Mouthpiece Music
Singer, lyricist Mark Winkler and pianist, composer David Benoit have teamed up to record an album that pays homage to their 37 years of friendship. Old Friends is a collection of some of the artists’ favorites songs by some of their favorite composers, as well as three original tunes, newly rendered in an affable collaboration by two musicians at the top of their form. Winkler and Benoit are seasoned artists in the music business. Winkler is a popular performer, lyricist, ...
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Mark Winkler And Cheryl Bentyne Team Up Again In Eastern Standard Time
Source:
Mouthpiece Music
Vocalists Mark Winkler and Cheryl Bentyne go together like champagne and caviar. Bentyne is a long-time mainstay of the iconic group The Manhattan Transfer. She is also a solo performer with over a dozen CDs under her own name. Winkler is a 2018 Downbeat Rising Male Vocalist and a popular lyricist. He has recorded 16 CDs, and his songs have been covered over 250 times by such artists as Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jane Monheit and Bob Dorough. Winkler ...
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Enter the "Mark Winkler - The Laura Nyro Project" Giveaway at All About Jazz!
Source:
All About Jazz
All About Jazz members are invited to enter the “Mark Winkler - The Laura Nyro Project“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on May 12th. Click here to enter the contest
(Becoming a fan of Mark Winkler at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.)
Good luck! About The Laura Nyro Project
Going where no one has gone before, Jazz Singer/songwriter, Mark Winkler, tackles the songbook of legendary '60s/'70s icon Laura Nyro–and ...
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Mark Winkler and Cheryl Bentyne: West Coast Cool Coming Your Way!
Source:
Rob Lowe
Limited dates and a new CD! THE WEST COAST COOL SHOW! Mark Winkler platinum award-winning jazz vocalist/lyricist meets Cheryl Bentyne, member of The Manhattan Transfer, and sparks fly. This duo is intent on proving how cool the West Coast Cool Jazz scene of the 1950s still is. Together and separately they perform songs by Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Julie London and Bobby Troup (to name a few); all the while, weaving never before heard stories of the original cast of ...
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Mark Winkler to Release "The Laura Nyro Project"
Source:
GoMedia PR
Although his last three CDs have placed high on the Jazz Week charts, and his lyrics have been regularly recorded by over 150 singers (including Dianne Reeves, Cheryl Bentyne, Jackie Ryan and Bob Dorough), for his latest work jazz singer and lyricist Mark Winkler has created a new album dedicated to fresh interpretations of the work of his own favorite singer/songwriter: Laura Nyro. “I love the songs of Laura Nyro", says Winkler. “I am moved by both her music and ...
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Mark Winkler "Gets It Right" on Ninth Release
Source:
All About Jazz
With the release of Till I Get It Right, Mark Winkler's ninth release and his first on FreeHam Records, jazz critics are already raving about the veterans latest creation.
Jonathan Widran of Jazziz writes, “Always sly and cool, yet passionate as a vocalist, his wonderfully compelling, distinctively vivid lyrics tell tales that are clever and witty one minute, lovelorn and heartbreaking the next." Christopher Loudon of Jazz Times says, “There isn't anything fake about Mark Winkler. ...
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"The star among stars is Winkler's exceptional voice, one possessing that indefinable quality that makes it memorable without exactly understanding what is so superb about it. The Laura Nyro Projectbetrays the care and love Winkler and company put into the session; this is an excellent vocal outing by any measure." Allaboutjazz.com "...one of those special projects when all the stars are in perfect alignment." Critical Jazz "Finding the jazz in Nyro's New York street roots, Winkler does a mighty job of crafting something that would have been jive in lesser hands
Photos
Music
Eastern Standard Time
From: Eastern Standard TimeBy Mark Winkler
Walk Between the Raindrops
From: The Company I KeepBy Mark Winkler
Stone Soul Picnic
From: The Laura Nyro ProjectBy Mark Winkler
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Mark Winkler
Location: Los Angeles
Instrument: Vocals
Publicist: Mouthpiece Music
