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Mark Isham (born September 7, 1951 in New York City) is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.

Career

He studied classical music at an early age and played trumpet, piano and violin. The Isham family later moved to San Francisco, where Mark found work in several of the local orchestras. He also became actively involved in the Bay Area rock and roll scene of the 1960s, performing live with several of the local groups.

He became a member of a group called Beefy Red. In 1966 Isham and several other members of Beefy Red joined the newly formed band The Sons of Champlin. The Sons of Champlin were unique to the San Francisco psychedelic scene in featuring a large brass section.

During the 1970s he learned to program synthesizers and became active in the progressive jazz movement. In 1976 Isham and pianist Art Lande formed a quartet called Rubisa Patrol. They released two albums: Rubisa Patrol (1976) and Desert Marauders (1978). It was in this group that Isham surfaced as a solo trumpeter with a strong Miles Davis influence.

In 1977 Isham performed on the Taj Mahal album Evolution (The Most Recent). This was the beginning of Isham’s career as a sessions artist, which continues to present day. He has worked with artists as diverse as Van Morrison, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Ziggy Marley, David Sylvian, Hector Zazou, David Torn, and Tanita Tikaram.

In 1978 he formed a group called Group 87. Group 87 featured bassist Patrick O'Hearn, drummers Terry Bozzio and Peter Van Hooke (at different times) and guitarist Peter Maunu. All of these artists would work with Isham in future solo projects. They released two albums: Group 87 (1980) and A Career in Dada Processing (1984).

In 1983 he released his first solo album, Vapor Drawings. Its style is an atmospheric and deeply experimental blend of modern jazz and electronic music. It was also the first album released on the Windham Hill label to feature extensive use of synthesizers.

That same year he also scored the soundtrack for the Carroll Ballard film Never Cry Wolf. This brought immediate attention and subsequent film score jobs. His second solo album was a compilation of these works titled Film Music (1985).

From 1987 to 1992 he composed scores for the "Rabbit Ears Storybook Classics" series of videos and CDs. These were narrated by famous actors such as William Hurt and Glenn Close.

His albums Castalia (1988) and Tibet (1989) were both Grammy-nominated. He won in 1990 with his album Mark Isham.

In 1992, he published his first orchestral work Five Stories for Trumpet and Orchestra. The same year he earned an Academy Award nomination for the soundtrack of the film A River Runs Through It. During the following years he became a prolific film score composer. Some of his film scores include: Save the Last Dance, Men of Honor and October Sky.

In 1995, he released an album titled Blue Sun. This was his first album to follow a mainstream contemporary jazz format.

In 1999, he formed a group to interpret the music of Miles Davis's late 1960s through mid-1970s electric jazz fusion and released an album, Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project, which was recorded live.

Isham is a practitioner of Scientology.

Filmography

(* soundtrack album released) (** iTunes exclusive)

Discography

Studio albums and compilations

• 1983 Vapor Drawings
• 1985 Film Music
• 1987 We Begin (with Art Lande)
• 1988 Castalia
• 1989 Tibet
• 1990 Mark Isham
• 1991 Songs My Children Taught Me
• 1995 Blue Sun
• 1998 Mark Isham: A Windham Hill Retrospective
• 1999 Miles Remembered: The Silent Way Project

Rabbit Ears Storybook Classics

• 1987 The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Narrated by Jeremy Irons)
• 1988 The Emperor and the Nightingale (Narrated by Glenn Close)
• 1989 Thumbelina (Narrated by Kelly McGillis)
• 1990 The Emperor's New Clothes (Narrated by Sir John Gielgud)
• 1992 The Boy Who Drew Cats (Narrated by William Hurt)

External links

• The Mark Isham Web Site - official site
• - list of complete career works

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