Mark Isaacs
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Mark Isaacs

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Press


"Mark Isaacs"

“The work of an artist capable of matching the rich elements of classical composition with the flowing rhythms of jazz . . the product of a splendid musical mind”
LOS ANGELES TIMES

“propelled by a winning combination of sharp rhythms and lyrical melodies”
NEW YORK TIMES

“The great modern Australian pianist/composer is no stranger to Moscow audiences . . pure, crisp and vehement . .I never thought that jazz was still so much alive”
MOSCOW TRIBUNE

“Like Jarrett at his best, what makes this set stand out from the plethora of piano trios covering the same material is the way that Isaacs re-imagines the tunes . . .bristling with fresh ideas and razor sharp vision, Mark Isaacs has talent to burn”
“Seamless in conception, flawless in execution, exuberant in creativity . . . makes extremely complex music natural and accessible”
ALL ABOUT JAZZ (USA)

"If Mark Isaacs lived in the United States, no doubt he would already be signed to a major jazz label. Isaacs reshapes the standards to his own imagination—which appears to contain vast reservoirs of ideas. Isaacs makes the interpretations his own, unlike anyone else’s” JAZZREVIEW.COM (USA)

“With each new release Mark finds a new angle of addressing his prodigious talents and I find myself looking forward to seeing what he will come up with next. There is a sophisticated musicality at work that is special and rare. He is a serious musician looking to solve deep questions”
PAT METHENY

“In many ways Mark Isaacs’s personality could be compared with that of Leonard Bernstein—the same boundless energy, enthusiasm for a broad range of music, pianistic skills and passionate concern for the performance bring to mind similar impressions to those I received from the few occasions I was lucky enough to work with Maestro Bernstein”
JOHN HARDING Concertmaster & Associate Conductor, Sydney Symphony Orchestra

“At heart, the work of a full-blooded romantic, though one with plenty of rhythmic vitality”
GRAMOPHONE Magazine

"From the opening bar of this record you know it's going to be good. The pristine sound of the piano immediately grabs your ear”
TIME OUT (London)

“an edge that opens doors to a wider audience”
LA JAZZ SCENE

"Isaacs' piano playing is filled with complex statements of thought-provoking density ... this approach leaves him naked, baring his heart and soul on each line and phrase that resounds from his concentrated style ... a delight to hear”
CADENCE (USA)

“Do the clocks run differently in Australia? . . Nothing in this production, conceived with painstaking attention to compositional detail, sounds over-hurried, agitated or anxious”
PIANO NEWS (Germany)

“polished, confident and deeply accomplished . . . must rank with the world’s finest”
“magnificently portentous outpourings”
“intelligent, sometimes dark, sometimes thorny, and always bittersweet . . a hybrid to be enjoyed and welcomed as one might any new rose in the musical garden”
“spellbinding listening . . . utterly beguiling”
“Mark Isaacs is a composer for all seasons”
“a New Yorkerish flipness and cleverness . .worked like a charm”
“an assurance not common on the local scene . . . alive and vivacious . .transportingly beautiful”
The performance was so compelling to hear and behold it should have been filmed”
“haunting beauty”
Isaacs was typically audacious, creating dazzling melodic figures and emotional peaks”
The sound came in slivering cascades, like the finest crystal being joyously dashed into a fireplace” SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

“a gorgeous score”
FANFARE (UK)

“He morphs the familiar into the unexpected. Great music, whatever genre, is about tension and release. This has it in spades”
“One of Australia's most lyrical and evocative pianists . . . meticulous and reflective
. . . sumptuous moments that need to be played over and over again . . . jaw-dropping work”
“Leaves the listener gasping for breath”
THE AGE (Melbourne)

“The world of Mark Isaacs is a strangely compelling place. Passionate, whimsical, joyfully erratic. .
sometimes eccentric and always deeply thoughtful . . letting loose, overflowing with ideas”
“Sumptuous Messiaen-like chord voicings. . . effortlessly tossing off blistering bop lines . . . Isaacs’s beautifully conceived improvisations”
“gorgeous . . uplifting . . suggesting a kind of redemptive theme”
“He moved through spontaneous harmonic changes that shimmered with beauty”
THE AUSTRALIAN

“stylishly presented, gorgeously coloured and pithily to the point . . astonishing"
THE ADVERTISER (Adelaide)

“Their interpretations avoid any suggestion of the prosaic and become pieces of rare and sometimes fragile beauty”
“Another section on Mark Isaacs’s enchanting journey through music . . a deeply concentrated journeying into harmonies, rhythms, thought patterns”
“reflective, contemplative, inspiring calm, contentment, an understanding that there is beauty to be seen, and heard, and felt”
CANBERRA TIMES

“Taking - Press Quotes & Testimonials


Discography

Mark has many previous CD releases on Naxos Jazz, ABC, Vorticity and other labels.

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Mark Isaacs has given concerts in Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Israel, Turkey, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Phillipines, Burma, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. He has performed and/or recorded with Dave Holland, Roy Haynes, Kenny Wheeler, Vinnie Colaiuta, Adam Nussbaum, Bob Sheppard, Steve Tavaglione and Jay Anderson. As a classical concert hall composer he has composed over 75 major works ranging across orchestral, chamber, choral and solo pieces. He is a recipient of an Australia Council Fellowship, a prize-winner in the Tokyo International Competition for Chamber Music Composition, the winner of the inaugural Miriam Hyde Composer-Pianist Award and he holds a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, USA. He curates the jazz program at the Brisbane Powerhouse performing arts centre and has performed as a classical pianist. He lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and daughter.