Mark McLean
| Mark McLean | |
|---|---|
McLean in September 2015
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| Background information | |
| Born |
February 5, 1975 North York, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | New York City |
| Genres | Jazz, contemporary, blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, lyricist, producer |
| Instruments | Drums, piano |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | none |
| Associated acts | George Michael, Catherine Russell, Playground, Leslie Odom Jr., Michael Feinstein, Morgan James |
| Website | markmclean |
Mark McLean (born February 5, 1975 in North York, Ontario is a Canadian musician, drummer, composer, lyricist and studio musician. McLean lives and works primarily in New York. He has released three albums under his own name. The first showcases his arrangements of jazz standards while his later albums are original material (except one song). His very early influence was his father's record collection, which included every genre: from Johann Sebastian Bach to James Brown. McLean is becoming known as the "drum whisperer" in part because he can coax organic sounds out any drum kit. McLean is musically multilingual: jazz, rhythm and blues, funk, pop or any genre required for the song.
McLean's great uncle, Cy McLean was one of the first black band leaders in Canada. His brother Lester McLean is an accomplished saxophonist and vocalist in the Toronto jazz and RnB scene.
McLean began his career at age nine as a gifted classical pianist, but by age 14 had started a second career playing the drums. By the time he was 18, the drums eclipsed the piano as McLean's voice for musical expression and the age of 22 he was playing with fellow Canadian and jazz icon, Oscar Peterson.
McLean graduated with honors from The University of Toronto with a bachelor's in performance in jazz. In his third year faculty member Don Thompson invited him to play on the first of the more than 70 recordings on which McLean appears. He was also named "Post-secondary Musician of the Year" by the Jazz Report Magazine in 1998. That summer McLean taught at Canada's Interprovincial Music Camp (jazz). He was also the jazz director at Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute while taking his undergraduate degree.
McLean's recording and touring highlights include George Michael,Gladys Knight, Joe Sample,Jamie Cullum, Andy Bey, Molly Johnson, Peter Cincotti, Andrea Bocelli, Serena Ryder, Catherine Russell, Jane Bunnett, Billy Joel, Dionne Warwick and Michael Kaeshammer.
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