Mark Whitfield

An adept guitarist, Mark Whitfield is a highly regarded performer with a sound that touches upon both straight-ahead jazz and soulful R&B. Born in 1966 in Lindenhurst, New York, Whitfield started out on bass and switched to guitar around age 15. Influenced early on by the warm, soulful style of <a href="spotify:artist:4N8BwYTEC6XqykGvXXlmfv">George Benson</a>, he eventually won a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating in 1987, he moved to New York, where <a href="spotify:artist:4N8BwYTEC6XqykGvXXlmfv">Benson</a> himself connected the guitarist to organist <a href="spotify:artist:0GX5PlFlvOiEdNvA7YHJzs">Jack McDuff</a>, an association that helped launch his career. Since then, he has performed with a bevy of luminaries including <a href="spotify:artist:5RzjqfPS0Bu4bUMkyNNDpn">Dizzy Gillespie</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3rxIQc9kWT6Ueg4BhnOwRK">Quincy Jones</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6QQuESLtKhAOcLW2TeWC2t">Art Blakey</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1eYhYunlNJlDoQhtYBvPsi">Ray Charles</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2ZvrvbQNrHKwjT7qfGFFUW">Herbie Hancock</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2E3nXyfocf7qfHAIFNbBuj">Carmen McRae</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5GXruybcLmXPjR9rKKFyS6">Jimmy Smith</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:62xdwGEOLoGQxKUqoJusyU">Clark Terry</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0x9L9ChXVAf3hFOb0CbRmd">Shirley Horn</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:375zxMmh2cSgUzFFnva0O7">Wynton Marsalis</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2dRsXWVnkku2cMDtV1h6NP">Stanley Turrentine</a>, and more. Whitfield made his solo debut with The Marksman on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warner+Bros.%22">Warner Bros.</a> in 1990.

More albums followed, including 1991's Patrice and 1993's Mark Whitfield. He then moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Verve%22">Verve</a> for a series of well-received efforts, including 1994's True Blue and 1997's Forever Love. He rounded out his <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Verve%22">Verve</a> deal with 1999's Take the Ride. A 2000 collaboration for the Jazz Channel with Joel Kipnis (aka JK) showcased the guitarist's more R&B-influenced sound. Also in 2000, he delivered the live album Raw, featuring his quartet with pianist <a href="spotify:artist:5cM1PvItlR21WUyBnsdMcn">Robert Glasper</a>, bassist Brandon Owens, and drummer <a href="spotify:artist:1Rm2XdERNm1pGhHveF6GqH">Donald Edwards</a>. He returned in 2005 with the stylistically expansive Mark Whitfield Featuring Panther. In 2009 he paid homage to longtime inspiration <a href="spotify:artist:7guDJrEfX3qb6FEbdPA5qi">Stevie Wonder</a> on Songs of Wonder, and then earned a Grammy Award nomination for his work on <a href="spotify:artist:0Vz0vgVrclNJlHBLrgjklY">Kenny Garrett</a>'s 2013 effort, Pushing the World Away. In 2017 Whitfield released Grace, which showcased his family band with sons drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr. and pianist Davis Whitfield. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi