Saxophonist and composer Mark Kraemer brings an exhilarating passion and intensity to live music performances. His sound is rich in texture and blends traditional Be-Bop and Modern Jazz with Latin and R&B influences.

 

A Baltimore native, Mark comes from a musical family. He learned piano from his aunt at age 6. His father was a multi-instrumentalist and taught him clarinet at age 7, and by age 8, Mark performed his first jazz piece and began attending Peabody Preparatory. By age 12, he had taken up alto saxophone and led his first band. At age 15, Mark joined The Startones, a 13-piece show band featuring four horns and five singers, opening for the Drifters and playing Memorial Stadium. .

 

Mark studied with saxophonist Terry Harrington and vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake in Los Angeles, California.After returning to Baltimore, Mark studied ear training with the late Dr. Asher Zlotnick before studying with legendary saxophonist Gary Bartz. By this time, Mark was performing with various groups at venues and events up and down the East Coast, from Louisiana to the Midwest. Having performed with multiple bands,

 

Mark has shared the stage opening for national recording acts such as The Whispers, Kim Waters, Walter Beasley, The Intruders, The Drifters, and others, with Mark playing alto, soprano, tenor saxophones, and wind controller. Mark has also performed with Norman Connors and Jean Carne at the legendary Blues Alley nightclub in Washington, DC.

 

Jacques Burdick recognized Mark's potential and recorded him on "Love Pages," a CD featuring legendary jazz musicians like Alex Blake, Omar Hakim, and vocalist Maysa at Manhatten Center in NYC. The project also includes George Benson, Jon Lucien, Dennis Davis, and Rene McLean. Mark's debut CD project, produced by Jacques Burvick, is a collection of jazz compositions that bring a fresh approach to the genre. Four-time Grammy-nominated engineer David Rideau (who has mixed gold and platinum projects for artists such as Janet Jackson, Sting, Tom Scott, and Al Jarreau) mixed the CD and the tracks.

 

 Mark's musical influences are Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Maceo, Junior Walker, Art Pepper, Cannonball Adderley, Gary Bartz, Grover Washington, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Stanley Turrentine, Phil Woods, and David Sanborn.