Click this photo to hear Mark's performance of "Cute"
at the Mackinac Island Jazz Festival in 1995
(Sorry you can't see him in the video, but, the sound is good! )
Drummer/ Percussionist, Mark Morris spent twenty-four years in the Nashville studio scene recording with artists such as Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and many others. In the country music field, Mark is probably best known for his years of performing and recording with Country Piano Legend, Floyd Cramer. In the early years of his career, Mark also played concert tours with the flamboyant piano virtuoso, Liberace'. Other concert appearances include the Big Bands of Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey and Duke Ellington; Jazz legends like Milt Jackson and Harry Connick Jr. ; and the Atlanta Jazz vocal legend, the late Ms. Judy Argo. His stylistic versatility is also apparent on a live concert recording as percussionist with "The Allman Brothers Band". He has played tympani and percussion with the Tampa, St. Louis, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras and taught classical music theory, arranging technique, and percussion performance at the university level, as well.
Since moving to New Orleans in 1993, he has played with a variety of traditional and modern jazz groups including the Harry Mayronne trio, The Benny Goodman Orchestra, and Pete Fountain just to name a few.
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Mark's girlfriend, Gila Rayberg, is a talented trombonist and mosaic artist here are a few examples of her beautiful craftsmanship:
This one is titled: My Garden Spa
this is: Red Gems
Here are the Back Stairs to their New Orleans "shotgun" house and a matching Cactus Pot.
For more about Gila Rayberg and her work see www.gilamosaics.com