Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Small.
Hi Mark, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a musician who loves to create and play with the fabric of sound. I found myself humming made-up songs a lot when I was a kid. I wasn’t very studious about music from the start but I fell in love with music when I was allowed to improvise as well as heard amazing musicians who improvised. That’s when music changed my world.
I started studying music in earnest when I went to college and connected with some of the best teachers I could find. I got into all kinds of music, classical, jazz, free improvisation, and top 40 while playing all kinds of gigs, parties, big band concerts, weddings, intimate clubs, coffee shops, you name it.
From there, I began writing some of my music and playing with as many people as I could, trying to find the perfect way to perform their music. Meanwhile, I had friends who wanted to know what I was learning so I began giving lessons on the side and learning “how” to teach.
I started getting opportunities to teach, from my hometown music studios to local colleges, people who would seek me out, and eventually teaching at several institutions. I moved to Miami in 2011 and have since had so many opportunities to continue performing, teaching, as well as curating music for local venues.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t always been smooth but I also think it has to do with how I view situations. Some things can be thought of as a struggle, while others also are seen as a challenge. Living in New York City for 10 years and only playing/teaching music was certainly a challenge. You have to be on your game all the time, finding the opportunities that everyone is going after.
New venues opening and closing, trying to play your best in every little situation because you never know who is listening and who might just open a door for you, maintaining the height of professionalism because I’ve seen a lot of musicians who can play but can’t show up on time or interact with people well. That city holds you to a high standard. I’ve been lucky to have that challenge because those skills have served me well in Miami and opened plenty of doors for me here.
I also believe that if there weren’t any struggles, there wouldn’t be anything to make the music robust. You have to learn to draw on experiences to bring life and depth to the music so it’s necessary to experience everything life offers, love, pain, loss, joy, etc. Without those, the music can just sound like formulas. To me, it’s the struggle and the mistakes that make it sound human. That’s what I want my music to reflect being human.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a freelance creative, I wear many hats. There are my performances, my work as a sideman playing shows/recording with others, there’s my teaching privately and for others, and there are curating performances. For my performances, I have many different interests musically so I’ve created a few different groups for these.
I have my quartet that has been performing in Miami, playing original compositions as well as some of my favorite lesser-played songs from my favorite artists in the straight-ahead jazz tradition. I also have a free improvisation group that varies in size and members called Big Division. I’ll be releasing a collaboration with that group on the Bandcamp website soon.
As a sideman, one of my favorite recent projects was writing and performing on recordings for Argentinian vocalist Roxana Amed. She lives here in Miami and is insanely talented. She is also very musically open so the breadth of music that she is willing to tackle with her projects is amazing. She has some of my all-time favorite musicians in her group which makes me look forward to every project she does.
On the teaching front, I’m currently the saxophone instructor at New World School for the Arts and MDC Wolfson. I maintain a busy schedule of private students who have gone on to institutions such as Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and other prestigious schools. Some students are Grammy nominees. I’ve helped out for education programs that are doing some wonderful work here in Miami such as the JECC program, based out of WDNA radio station, and the CAP program in Coral Gables.
On top of this, I’ve been curating music at the local venue Lagniappe House for a few years now and it’s given me an amazing glimpse into the depth of the Miami music scene. I think the one thing I try to keep true to regarding selecting their music is finding groups that are high-quality performers who might not be able to present their music at other venues in Miami. Miami can be known as a party town so many bands who perform cater to that side of the industry and there are plenty of venues that present that atmosphere.
I try to walk the line in what I choose between creative and original music and make sure that it fits with a social crowd. I’ve also begun working with a concert promotion group called Interparallel. I’ve had the good fortune to present some amazing concerts to them. I’m looking forward to a few later this year at The Center for Subtropical Affairs so keep an eye out during Basil.
For me, these different aspects of my life have each given me a unique perspective on what I want to create and how I’d like to present my music. I always look to balance these elements which keep me happy and creative. As an improviser in the way I approach almost everything, I’m always looking for new opportunities to stretch out of my comfort zone.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
Embrace every opportunity you get and try to learn something from every single one of them. I’ve learned a lot not only from the situations I loved but even from situations I hated. If you learn something from every opportunity, then they are all worth it.
Also, I tend to not trust situations that are too comfortable. If I’m not being challenged in some way, I’m not expanding as a person, and for me, this is incredibly important.
Contact Info:
- Website: Smallmusic.com
- Instagram: @marksmallmusic
