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Mark Corroto

Mark misses his dogs Louie & Freddy, but endeavors daily to find and listen to new and interesting sounds.

About Me

At first told he was raised by gypsies, later found it was wolves, Mark discovered jazz by way of Raymond Scott and Carl Stalling's music for Warner Brothers' cartoons. Early on he wondered why the saxophone solos on Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon and Van Morrison's Moondance were so bad. “You're a jazz critic, that's why” a friendly drifter told him. Mark packed his bags and waited for a passenger train to the Big Apple, only to find the train station boarded up. He's lived in Ohio ever since.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because besides descending a mountain on a road bicycle at 55 mph or a glass of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, nothing makes my endorphins rush like an Albert Ayler or Mats Gustafsson solo. I was first exposed to jazz watching Warner Brother's cartoons. I met Peter Brotzmann in 1991 at a show in Youngstown, Ohio. He was (to my surprise) such a gentle soul, and inspiring artist. The best show I ever attended was... hmm... that's a hard one, either the Sun Ra Arkestra 1989, Naked City 1993, or Randy Weston ensemble 1987, maybe Sonny Rollins in New York 1993, or was it The Thing 2003? Maybe Matt Wilson's Quartet last year. The first jazz record I bought was Weather Report's Mysterious Traveller. My advice to new listeners...Don't ask me if this particular recording is good jazz, if YOU like it it's good jazz, if YOU don't it isn't good jazz. Jazz is about exploring, connecting the dots: Miles Davis played with John Coltrane and Charlie Parker (who started bebop) - But also made funky electric music, and Carlos Santana recorded Coltrane's Love Supreme with John McLaughlin, who played with Miles and Miles' drummer Tony Williams, which might be the first fusion. Everyone references Louis Armstrong, who's career paralleled bebop but wasn't bebop, although Dizzy Gillespie, another bebop originator was quite taken and inspired by Satchmo. The threads running between players and styles cross and loop endlessly. There is a lifetime of study (that's a bad word), I mean enjoyment as chasing the dots and connections.

My Favorite Local Jazz Venues & Festivals

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