“Post-adulthood” is the place that jazz guitarist Mark Guest now hangs his hat.
“Don’t get me wrong, raising my kids was huge for me, but now that they’re grown and gone, well… life goes on!” says Mark.
Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Mark was actively gigging in the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans region, but after Katrina, Mark’s music career began taking center stage in his life. “Before the storm, I had a day job in public finance, enough jazz gigs every week to keep me happy, and a nice home near the beach, I lived in an interesting arts-oriented community and had New Orleans nearby. When Katrina wiped us out, all that changed”, says Guest.
Mark’s home, most of his guitar collection, and much of his community were destroyed by the hurricane. “After the storm, I had invitations to play in venues literally around the world. My wife and I planned to take a portion of our homeowner’s insurance money and follow the gigs around the world for a year or two.” They didn’t count on an insurer that did not want to honor their claims until two years after the loss. Now Mark’s performances are booked on the quality of the music, not what he calls the “Katrina Factor”.
Mark has been a popular addition at jazz festivals and in venues from New Orleans to the Gulf Coast, the Eastern Seaboard, to Toronto and Western Canada. Now residing in Asheville, he happily travels to various performances. “We decided that Katrina gave us an opportunity to change our lives for the better, and that’s what I’m doing. Playing this music for appreciative audiences is such a fulfilling element of my life that, in some ways, I’m grateful for the alterations that Katrina brought.” claims Mark.
Raised in Toronto, Canada, Mark was a fan of jazz early on. He remembers, “During the early 1970’s I became a teenaged ‘jazz snob’ and regularly hung out listening to jazz players like Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert, Sonny Greenwich, Don Thompson and Terry Clark. I also was exposed to the avant-garde/free jazz scene that was happening at the time. It was a real eye-opening experience to play with guys like Al Greg, who was pretty far out there in the free jazz world.”
While largely self-taught, Mark has studied with noted musical luminaries such as Toronto guitarists Lenny Breau, Lorne Lofsky, and New Orleans guitarists Phil DeGruy, and Hank Mackie.
Noted NYC jazz critic George Kanzler provided liner notes to Mark’s “Happy Together” CD, a project he calls “an impressive album.” He added, “He’s a guitarist who lets his solos unfurl out of the tunes he’s playing, songfully, with a mellow tone from his Ribbecke Halfling blue guitar.
“His solo improvisations reference the melodies, enhancing rather than abandoning them as his imagination takes wings on the frets. Whether plush chords or ringing single notes, his solos tend to trace a definite narrative arc, a strong melodic thread weaving through their harmonies and rhythm.”
Mark can be found playing solo, in duo settings in the Mark Guest Jazz Duologues (along with various accompanists, including bass, piano, tuba, sax, voice, and flute) and group settings ranging from his “Bop/Pop Trio”, to larger groups. While remaining firmly rooted in the jazz tradition, Mark brings unique approaches to non-standard repertoire as varied as the 1960s’ Hollies’ “Bus Stop” to the blues.
“One of the great joys of living in our mountain community is some of the wonderful new artists who’ve decided to make Asheville home. I’ve had the honor of sharing the stage with guitarist Mark Guest on several occasions at a local restaurant venue called the Chop House.
“Mark brings a musical spark to a performance that’s refreshing and new to our area, plus he’s great melodist and arranger of tunes with a conceptual balance between improvisation and well-known material that the listener can latch onto. This refreshing brew Mark creates is something not to be missed.” ~ Bassist Eliot Wadopian