Mark Manners :: Jazz Guitar

Mark Manners—Jazz Guitar

Mark Manners is one of Alaska’s premier working Jazz guitarists, as well as an accomplished composer.

Upcoming/recent appearances:

September 8, 2024—John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet Fall Celebration Concert, at Anchorage Lutheran Church
1420 N Street, Anchorage
The John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet, 4:30–6pm
August 9–10—Alaska Jazz Workshop Jazz Camp Concerts, at University of Alaska Fine Arts Building, Anchorage
The John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet
July 6—Jazz in the Park, at Peratrovich Park, Anchorage
JD Latin Jazz Quintet, 4–6pm

More details below

Sights and Sounds

Samples of all Change in Time album tracks can be played below or on the Albums pane.

About Mark and the Musicians

Alternate Reality solo, 2020

Mark Manners is one of Alaska’s premier guitarists, regularly performing with local jazz artists John Damberg, Rick Zelinsky, and Melissa Fischer as well as visiting jazz and Latin/jazz artists. A versatile professional, Mark is also first call with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Anchorage Concert Chorus, and Anchorage Opera and music-theatre productions, and he performs with local rock and country bands.

An accomplished composer, Mark collaborated on his first album, Azure, with John Damberg (vibes) and Laura Koenig (flute) in 2005. In 2020, he traveled to New York to record his second album, Change In Time, with internationally acclaimed jazz pianist Amina Figarova and husband/flutist Bart Platteau.

Mark enjoys teaching and serves on the faculty and Board of Directors of the nonprofit Alaska Jazz Workshop. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and completed studies at the Guitar Institute of Technology in California.

Albums

Azure

JoMaLa 2005

Change in Time

The Mark Manners Sextet 2022

Individual tracks from Change in Time, as well as the complete album, are available from most online music-distribution and streaming services via Distrokid; Azure is not currently available online but can be purchased in CD form (see the Get in Touch pane).

I’ve been a professional musician since 1983, and, without a doubt, playing, performing, composing, practicing, rehearsing, recording, and teaching music is my true passion. I’ve been writing and performing my own music as far back as I can remember but didn’t get around to recording my first album until 2005, in Anchorage, with John Damberg and Laura Koenig. I recorded my second album in New York City in 2021 with Amina Figarova, her husband Bart Platteau, and Rick Zelinsky.

I have a quite a few compositions that I plan to record in the future. In addition, I’m looking forward to continuing writing and performing more of my original music.

I’ve been asked a number of times what my inspiration was for a particular song, and I usually answer something like this. When I write music, I usually sit with my guitar, try to get into a kind of meditative state, and then start to play. Sometimes I come up with a melodic motif that I develop. Other times I start with a bass line and a rhythmic groove that gets the song going. Or I start with a chord progression and then improvise a melody that fits the chords.

One of the more important aspects of music is emotion, but when I’m in the moment composing music, at least up to this point, I haven’t been focusing on my emotions, I’ve been focusing on the music, although I’m sure my emotions do come through in the music. My compositional style is in a continuing state of evolution, maybe the next step in my musical evolution will be to pay more attention to emotions when I’m composing.

When I perform, I get such joy sharing my love for music, especially when it’s one of my own songs. I’ve come to realize there’s an energy exchange between the audience, myself, and the musicians I’m playing with. This is one of the main reasons I love playing music with a group of musicians for an audience.

To add to that, music brings people from different social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds together, which I think is so important in these troubled times. I recently found an article that speculated that humans and our ancestors have been making music as far back as 500,000 years. I now want to follow in the footsteps of those that came before us and travel the world sharing my love for music.

Now Appearing

Upcoming/recent appearances:

July 28—O’Malley’s on the Green
Anchorage Golf Course, 3651 O’Malley Road, Anchorage • 907 522 3363
The Rick Zelinsky Quintet, 7–10pm
August 4—Alaska Jazz Workshop Faculty Concert
University of Alaska Fine Arts Building, 3700 Alumni Drive, Anchorage
7:30pm
August 19—Jazz in the Park, at Peratrovich Park, Anchorage
4th Ave & E Streets, Anchorage
The Rick Zelinsky Quintet, 4–6pm

Notable past appearances:

2024

September 8—John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet Fall Celebration Concert, at Anchorage Lutheran Church
1420 N Street, Anchorage
The John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet, 4:30–6pm
August 9–10—Alaska Jazz Workshop Jazz Camp Concerts, at University of Alaska Fine Arts Building, Anchorage
The John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet
July 6, 2024—Jazz in the Park, at Peratrovich Park, Anchorage
JD Latin Jazz Quintet, 4–6pm

2023

June 10—Jazz in the Park, at Peratrovich Park, Anchorage
4th Ave & E Streets, Anchorage
The Mark Manners Quintet, 4–6pm
June 3—The Spenard Jazz Festival at Peratrovich Park
4th Ave & E Streets, Anchorage
The Mark Manners Quintet, 3–3:45pm
The John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet, 5–5:45pm
May 12
O’Malley’s on the Green, Anchorage
The Rick Zelinsky Quintet
April 30—with Rick Zelinsky and his Alaska Electronic Orchestra, featuring Yngvil Vantn Guttu and Lena Lukina
University of Alaska Anchorage Fine Arts Building
April 22
Flattop Pizza, Anchorage
The Mark Manners Trio, featuring John Damberg on keyboard, and Nick Petumenos on bass
April 20—with Pat Ownes and Bob Andrews
Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Anchorage
March 25—Jazz Concert with Aaron Lohmeyer & Friends
Christ Lutheran Church, Soldotna
February 17—Young Peoples Concert
The Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
with The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra
January 21—Neighborhood Concert with The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra
Bartlett High School, Anchorage

2022

January 22—with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra
Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
May 12 through 22—In the Heights music theatre
Bartlett High School, Anchorage
May 28—Alaska Jazz Workshop, Anchorage Downtown Partnership
Peratrovich Park, Anchorage
The John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet
June 3—Spenard Jazz Festival
Anchorage Museum
with Lena Lukina
June 4—Spenard Jazz Festival
The Nave, Anchorage
The Rick Zenlinsky Sextet
June 5—House concert, Spenard Jazz Festival
Anchorage
The Mark Manners Sextet
July 29—Alaska Jazz Workshop Faculty Concert
University of Alaska Anchorage Fine Arts Building
August 20—Alaska Jazz Workshop, Anchorage Downtown Partnership
Peratrovich Park, Anchorage
The Mark Manners Sextet
August 21—Alaska State Fair, Palmer
The John Damberg Latin Jazz quintet
October 8—with The Anchorage Concert Chorus
Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
October 29—with The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra
Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
November 20—with Rick Zelinsky and his Alaska Electronic Orchestra
University of Alaska Anchorage Fine Arts Building
December 3—The Mark Manners Sextet CD release concert
Wilda Marston Theatre at Z.J. Loussac Library, Anchorage

Get in Touch

907 444 0582 ✦ m1manners@icloud.com

Text, call, email, or send a message on Facebook to inquire about booking for an event or purchasing physical CDs of Change in Time and Azure.

Alaskan scenic photography by gracious permission of Michael Sakarias of Juneau

Website by Mark Ellis Walker

1. Samba in Vermont		7. Happy
2. Ascent North		8. Slobossa
3. A Change in Time		9. Mark’s Waltz
4. Ballad of 2020		10. Short & Sweet
5. Peak 3 Jam		11. Seasons of the Heart
6. Love Samba