Mark Gre.

Mark performs regularly with the Jazz Society at the Black Box Theatre in Ft. Pierce. Originally from NY, where he played his trumpet on stage on Broadway as well as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Mark also travelled nationally and internationally accompanying such celebrities as Vic Damone, Neil Sedaka, and Mel Torme just to mention a few.

He moved to South Florida in 1988 and immediately formed his own Dixieland band known as the Rowdy Roosters. For the past 10 years he has directed, along with Al Hager, a 17pc. Big Band known as FDO-For Dancers Only, the Big Swingin’ Band. Since 2001, Mark has written and presented 3 mixed-media shows, “A Tribute to Satchmo,” “The Genius of Duke Ellington,” and “Benny Goodman-The King of Swing.” The latter was performed on stage at the Sunrise Theater in 2013 with 19 musicians.

Mark has been a noted educator for as long as he’s been a musician, and was very honored to have received the Teacher of the Year Award for the State of Florida in 2004. This was presented to him by the Department of Juvenile Justice at Disney World, for his work with at-risk teenage youth. This summer will be the third year that he will direct and write the curriculum for the society’s Summer Jazz Band Camp program. This is designed to teach young music students, and recently older ones too, the techniques in improvising and performing jazz music in front of a live audience.

Mark states, “I’m happy to play a small part in attempting to keep this great American art form alive, by mentoring young people in the joy of performing jazz.”