Mark Gross (born February 20, 1966) is an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop tradition. He studied at the Berklee College of Music, graduating in 1988, then worked in the band of Lionel Hampton and performed in Five Guys Named Moe on Broadway. He has since worked with a variety of other artists, including the bands of Delfeayo Marsalis, Nat Adderley and the Dave Holland Big Band. Gross also plays soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, flute and clarinet.
Two-time Grammy award winner with the Dave Holland Big Band, Gross has recorded on over 100 jazz recordings, including Grammy-winning projects by the Dave Holland Big Band - 'What Goes Around' on ECM Records, [1] [2] and 'Overtime' on Dare 2 Records.
Gross has released four albums under his own name including Preach Daddy on King Records, [3] Riddle of the Sphinx on J Curve Records, [4] Blackside on Jazz Legacy Productions (JLP), [5] + Strings (MGQ Records), and The Gospel According to Mark: A Jazz Suite (MGQ Records).
Gross has toured the world with the Mark Gross Quartet, Buster Williams, Philip Harper, Nat Adderley, Dave Holland, Mulgrew Miller, Nicholas Payton, Delfeayo Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, Jimmy Heath, Dizzy Gillespie Alumni Big Band, Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Tom Harrell Big Band, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Frank Foster and the Loud Minority, Charles Mingus Big Band, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Harrison, Mark Whitfield, Joe Dukes, Captain Jack McDuff, Joe Chambers, Neal Smith, Cyrus Chestnut, Regina Carter, Lionel Hampton, Stephon Harris, Walter Booker, Jimmy Cobb, Don Braden, Vincent Gardner, Lenora Zenzalai Helm, Marlon Saunders, SEPIA and Jann Parker among others.
Gross has performed on Broadway consistently. His credits include Five Guys Named Moe (1992-1993) based on the music of Louis Jordan, and Kat and the Kings (1999-2000), based on music born out of oppression during the 1950s in Cape Town, South Africa; as well as 'Swing!' (2000-2001).
Gross performed in After Midnight, The Broadway production, which began previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on October 18, 2013, [6] and opened on November 3, 2013, with special guest star Fantasia Barrino, who performed through February 9, 2014. The production features Dule Hill as "The Host", Adriane Lenox, Karine Plantadit and Desmond Richardson. [7]
Gross also performed in Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed is a musical with a score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle and a libretto by George C. Wolfe, based on the original book of the 1921 musical revue Shuffle Along, by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. The story focuses on the challenges of mounting the original production of Shuffle Along and its effect on Broadway and race relations. Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations is a 2018 jukebox musical with music and lyrics by The Temptations and a book by Dominique Morisseau. Based on the story of The Temptations, the musical had a series of regional productions and opened at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre in March 2019.
A Wonderful World - The Louis Armstrong Musical , another of Gross' Broadway credits, is a jukebox stage musical with a book by Aurin Squire. The musical tells an autobiographical account of the life of jazz musician Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), from the perspective of the four wives he had during his lifetime, Daisy Parker, Lillian Hardin, Alpha Smith, and Lucille Wilson. [8] The title comes from the song "What a Wonderful World", originally released in 1967 and written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. The show opened on Broadway at Studio 54 on November 11, 2024, following previews beginning a month earlier. The show closed on February 23, 2025. The production ran for 151 performances, including 31 previews. [9]
In 2015, Gross became the director of jazz instruction for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, running its Jazz for Teens program. [10]
Gross credits his sound to the appreciation for gospel music that resounded through his parents' Baltimore home. [11] Gross' father was pastor of his hometown church Mt. Zion C.O.G.I.C. up until his death February 1, 2007. After developing his interests in classical music at the Baltimore School for the Arts, [12] Gross studied one semester at Howard University and four years at Berklee College of Music. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Performance at Berklee College of Music, where he studied under professors Joe Viola and Bill Pierce. Upon graduation in 1988, Gross began his professional music career in jazz.
As a leader:
With the Dave Holland Big Band:
With Spirit of Life Ensemble:
With Metta Quintet:
With the Jimmy Heath Big Band:
With Antonio Hart:
With Shingo Okudaira:
With Delfeayo Marsalis:
With Yoichi Kobayashi:
Other projects:
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