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Getting to the soul of jazz
Drums Etc. Magazine
by Maureen Brown Gratton
– March, 2000
There’s a new school of jazz drummer, typified by Brian Blade, Billy Drummond, and Bill Stewart. They can play this century, but they also haven’t forgotten the last. Canada’s Mark McLean is a prime example.
With many scholarships to his credit, McLean has a Bachelor of Jazz Performances at the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Jazz Workshop Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Mark leads his own quintet and has sat in the drum chair of the University of Toronto’s 10 O’clock Jazz Orchestra. At the tender age of twenty-three, McLean has a surprisingly long list of credits, including Don Thompson, Dave Young, Moe Koffman, Jane Bunnett, Peter Appleyard, Brian Hughes, and Oscar Peterson.
While pursuing his university degree, Mark had the opportunity of studying with some of the finest educators, such as Kevin Turcotte, Barry Elmes, Paul Read, and Phil Nimmons. He studied privately with Mark Kelso, Joe Labarbera, and Toronto drum guru Jim Blackley. Realizing the importance of broadening horizons, Mark is also becoming equally versed on the ivories and pursues classical training with Gary Williamson.
Mark’s recordings include Moments to Remember by the Mantini Sisters with the Gene de Novi Trio, Groove Essentials Vol. 2, Banff Alumni Allstars by Don Thompson, and Wayward by Paul Tobey.
The Mark McLean Quintet performed on the main stage at last years Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival and Mark joined Paul Tobey Trio for his debut at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. He also headlined Ottawa’s After Eight Jazz Club’s Drum Month and was selected as 1998 Jazz Report Post-Secondary Musician of the Year.
Drawing from inspirations as varied as Elvin Jones, James Brown, Bach(!), Tony Williams, and Dennis Chambers, Mark goes about his composing and drumming. Too see him play is to experience the full range of sounds available from a small kit and fairly simple set of Zildjian Constantinople cymbals. He can play time, groove, and fast tempos, yet he is equally content to lay out for several measures, letting the space do the talking. With sticks, brushes, or often bare hands, he coaxes serious timbres from scarce resources. Word on the street is to check him out soon.
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