Mark McLean
June 25 @ 8:00 PM
Kelly Jefferson - Saxophone
Adrean Farrrugia - Piano
Mike Downes - Bass
Mark McLean - Drums
Mark McLean is a dynamic studio and touring musician based in New York City. Born in Toronto, McLean’s musical journey began at the age of nine, when he emerged as a gifted classical pianist. He transferred that passion to drumming in his teens and received a scholarship from the University of Toronto and earned a bachelor degree in Jazz Performance. While in the program, it wasn't long before Mark was fielding offers to play with some of jazz's leading lights, including a stint with seminal pianist (and fellow Canadian) Oscar Peterson. Since moving to New York in 2000, Mark has been in
demand over the past two decades anchoring and collaborating with such greats as Joe Sample, Gladys Knight, Rickie Lee Jones, John Legend, Jamie Cullum, Catherine Russell, Michael Feinstein, Dionne Warwick, BillyJoel and the late George Michael.
In addition to being an in demand sideman, McLean has also emerged as a popular band leader, performing gigs with his own group and releasing two acclaimed solo recordings. His instrumental traditional and modern jazz debut Playground (2010) and Feel Alright (2014) which features Mark’s talents as a songwriter.
Recently, Mark expanded his musical exploration into composing for film and television, co-scoring "How It Feels
To Be Free," an episode of PBS's long-running series AMERICAN MASTERS. He followed that by scoring TV documentary BLACK LIBERATORS WWII for Canada’s History Channel in 2021. Most recently Mark scored his first animated series for the GBH Kids/PBS series entitled ACOUSTIC ROOSTER. Acoustic Rooster introduces jazz to preschoolers through collaboration and ensemble playing. The show received two 2026 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Original Song (co-written by Mark) and Outstanding Short Form Animated Program.
IG: themarkmclean