Mark Flugge
Mark Flugge is active in the Central Ohio area as a pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader. As a leader he has recorded three CDs: “February’s Promise” (all original compositions), “Familiarity” (Cojazz), which also features Gene Bertoncini and Michael Moore, and his latest, "In Love, In Blue". A solo piano recording, it's a mix of American popular songbook gems, Flugge originals, and a unique reworking of "Rhapsody In Blue". He has recorded four CDs with Columbus singer Dick Mackey, and is also the featured soloist on the Famous Jazz Orchestra CD “Sight Readin’ Baby”. Performance credits include work with such notables as David “Fathead” Newman, Joe La Barbera, Jimmy Heath, Marcus Belgrave, Ken Peplowski, Joe Lovano, Jon Faddis, Eddie Daniels, John Abercrombie, Claudio Roditi, and Ira Sullivan, among many others.
Classically trained, Mr. Flugge is a diligent student of jazz piano styles. In January 2008 he presented a comprehensive solo concert “From Jelly Roll to Jarrett, a Jazz Piano History” at the King Arts Complex. He will perform the concert again in August 2008 at the Breckenridge Music Festival in Breckenridge Colorado, which will mark his second appearance at this annual event. He appeared with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra as soloist in Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” in July 2006, a work he also performed with the Westerville Symphony in 2004. In April 2006 as part of the Firehouse Jazz Concert Series, Mark presented an Ellington retrospective featuring clarinetist Ken Peplowski.
Other recent notable projects include Mark’s transcription of Thelonious Monk’s 1959 “Town Hall Concert” for performances in Columbus and at the University of Illinois Summer Jazz Festival; for both of these shows he served as conductor and pianist. Another Firehouse Jazz Concert Flugge produced, “A Tribute to Horace Silver”, was named a “Best Event of 2005” by the Columbus Dispatch, who also included his “Tribute To Bill Evans” concert with singer Dick Mackey as one of 2007’s most memorable concerts.
Locally, Mark leads the Mark Flugge Trio with bassist Dave DeWitt and drummer Dave Weinstock. As the house rhythm section for Flugge's "Chamber Jazz Series", they present monthly programs devoted to specific jazz styles and composers. The venue for the 2008/09 season will be the Columbus Museum of Art. He frequently appears with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. The Ohio Arts Council has awarded Flugge on three separate occasions for pieces he composed for his group “No Pedestrians”.
Mr. Flugge is a jazz faculty member at Capital University and at the Ohio State University, and is a former faculty member of the Eastman School of Music. He has conducted clinics throughout the U.S. and Germany on jazz improvisation and the music of Duke Ellington. In addition, he maintains a private teaching studio which focuses on jazz improvisation and composition. Mark Flugge earned a BM in jazz composition from the Ohio State University, and MM in jazz performance from the Eastman School of Music. His teachers include Paul Gearhart, Richard Tetley-Kardos, Bob Allen, Hank Marr, and Bill Dobbins.