ABOUT MARK

Guitar Player Magazine recently published a feature on Mark. The feature includes an interview where Mark talks about his approach to music, guitar playing and lots more.

Read the web version here.

"Wingfield's guitar playing is mysterious, majestic, and blazing in turns" Barry Cleveland, Guitar Player Magazine

"Consistently brilliant and forward-thinking" Guitar Player Magazine

"Unique and sophisticated... (one of) England’s most accomplished players" Guitar Player Magazine

On Mark's current CD Three Windows: "One of the year's most engaging recordings." Guitar Player Magazine

"There are so many electric guitar virtuoso albums ...it's so easy to overlook some of the better of these ...Mark Wingfield is a case in point... uplifting... inspiration... engaging" Guitar Techniques Magazine

“Almost moved me to tears.” BBC

"Cinematic eloquence... command of electronic textures... and swooping-bird evocations" The Guardian

"Wingfield's musical eclecticism is well attested... very distinctive-sounding" JazzWise Magazine

"The six string winged, improvising Shaman...The word "Wow!" is spoken there in every tongue." Billy Sheppard Music That Matters

“Simply one of the best guitarists I’ve ever heard in my long career, essential listening” Richard Newman (Producer and presenter of Ch4 TV guitar documentary, author of numerous books on music).

"Contemporary jazz doesn't get any better than this."
Fretwired

“One of today’s most creative transatlantic musical voices” BMIC

“One of the UK’s best new composers” SPNM

In the UK Mark has recently been working and performing with renowned harpsichordist Jane Chapman, releasing an album Three Windows with her and saxophonist Iain Ballamy.

Mark has also been recording and performing innovative Swiss pianist and keyboard player René Von Grünig releasing the album Guitar Encryptions.

Mark is one of the most original and distinctive electric guitarists today. His improvising is always compelling, continually inventive and melodically uplifting. His guitar playing is steeped in the language of jazz, with influences such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett and Jan Garbarek as well as rock players such as Jimi Hendrix.

Other often eclectic influences such as Indian, Japanese and African music also feature strongly in Mark’s playing. These influences are fused with jazz and western classical music, and seamlessly integrated into a unique and highly distinctive musical voice. On his CD Fallen Cities, he collaborated with Lebanese singer Samia Afra, and continued his interest in non-western forms, working and performing with Turkish musicians such as Gökhan Özyavuz in Istanbul as well as Zambian musician KT Lumpa.

Mark’s interest in music technology came to the fore when he was asked to join ResRocket, a band made upof respected musicians from around the world who, using ground breaking software, played together live over the internet. As a core member of ResRocket Mark played with such lumaniries as Peter Gabriel, Tricky, Matt Black, Dave Stewart, and Todd Rundgren. As well as recording an album, the band toured playing London, Paris, LA, Oslo and elsewhere. During concerts some of the members were on stage while others played live over the internet projected on giant screens on stage. Almost every aspect of this band was a “world first”, truly ground breaking on every level.

As a jazz guitarist Mark has played widely in Europe and has just released his fifth CD, Guitar Encryptions on the Dark Energy Muisc label (Also available for download on iTunes, Napster and Rhapsody).

Composition

His compositions were recently the subject of a lecture at Goldsmiths College London to mark the opening of its new Contemporary Music Department and have also been featured in lectures and workshops at The Royal College of Music London, Trinity College of Music London and Dartington College of Arts music department.

The growing interest in his work has led to commissions for the BMIC’s Cutting Edge Series, SPNM’s Sound Source, the European Commission funded Waterways Celebration, Jane Chapman, Elaine Funaro, Geoffrey Burgess, McFall’s Chamber and others. Mark is quickly establishing himself as a new and unique composing voice in the U.K.

Teaching
Mark runs guitar master classes and workshops with his unique teaching methods at major locations around the UK. Mark recently gave a workshop at the prestigious Trinity College of Music in London, has co-written a lecture for Goldsmiths College London. Has has received accolades from: Aric Rubin (writer from Guitar Player Magazine’s Master Series). Jon Finn (Senior guitar instructor at Berklee School of Music Boston U.S.) as well as from the many students of his acclaimed workshops.

History
Mark spent his early musical life moving back and fourth between England and the US, playing with bands in Boston, Bristol and London. His developing jazz interests soon took him to Europe where he gained considerable experience as composer and performer with jazz groups SMQ and Scapetrace. Playing around Europe with his group, Mark also spent time studying western and non-western classical forms, developing further a long standing interest in Indian, African and Japanese music. Mark now splits his time between playing with his band (The Mark Wingfield Group) and working as a contemporary composer in the U.K.