Interview of Mark Shilansky as told to Gregory Jenkins
I see you grew up in NH. Tell us more about growing up there and how it influences your music?
I grew up in the woods outside of Concord, NH. My friends and I would hear music made in New York and Los Angeles and all around the world and it literally brought the world to us. There is a great conservatory in Concord, CCMS (Concord Community Music School) where I took lessons and ensembles with great teachers like pianist Michael Annicchiarico and guitarist David Tonkin, who exposed me to artists with whom I fell in love, Charlie Parker, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Michael Brecker. Later in my undergraduate years at University of New Hampshire in Durham, I learned about the deep lineage of this music, from professors like Paul Verrette and David Seiler, who worked tirelessly to bring the creators of jazz music to campus regularly for performances and clinics. I rubbed elbows with Clark Terry, James Moody, Milt Hinton. So, New Hampshire’s public schools and universities helped develop in me a love of jazz, and particularly the importance of delving into its history and the music of its major artists, leading me to try and forge my own path in it.
You teach at Berklee and UNH. How does teaching influence your music and how does performing influence your teaching?
I think they use similar creative energies… meaning that after a day of teaching, one can be completely exhausted and find it difficult to perform at a gig that evening (something we often have to do). I think teaching reminds the teacher, on a regular basis, of the aesthetics of the art form, and that inspires the teacher to make their art the pinnacle of this idea, and regular performance reminds the teacher of the most important parts of their teaching.
Are there certain types of musicians you like performing with and why?
I like playing with musicians who listen to me as hard as I am listening to them. I try to play with musicians who are better than me whenever I can. I love playing with singers, especially singers like Somervillian David Thorne Scott, who invest themselves in a song’s lyrics, and are aware of harmony, so it is a conversation rather than accompaniment.
You spent some time in NYC and then returned. Tell us more about the different scenes in NYC and Boston area.
I think NYC was in the mid 90’s (and in many ways still is) the center of the jazz world. Boston had a period of time when it was an important jazz hub, but I think that diminished during the 80’s. There are some amazing schools in both cities, so there is no shortage of young great musicians in either place, but many of them leave Boston (for NY or LA or Nashville) soon after they graduate. Boston still has its share of great venues, Passim, Scullers, the Mad Monkfish (credit owner Jamme Chantler and drummer/talent booker Scott Goulding for creating a kind of “home” for the jazz scene by featuring essential local masters like Jerry Bergonzi, Tim Ray, and Donna Byrne, and also hosting regular jam sessions for singers and instrumentalists to hone their skills and network).
My time in New York was important for me to hear and meet (and sometimes play with) some of the greatest players in the world. I feel more at home in the Boston area, but New York is still an inspiration and a great place to check in with from time to time.
Are there areas or locations in Somerville that inspire you? Why?
Living here is always a trip for me because I used to drive down to Somerville from NH in the late 80’s to hear George Garzone and the Fringe at the Willow Jazz Club in Ball Square (I think it’s a hardware store now), and now I live in Davis Square and walk through Ball Square walking home from the train, sometimes after hefty purchases from Stereo Jack’s, Ball Square Wines, and maybe a couple of other establishments in that locality. Also, my wife (mezzo-soprano Kathleen Flynn, also a Berklee and Tufts professor) and I lived in Union Square for years, next to the Biscuit, near Wine and Cheese Cask, Dali, The Kebab Factory. Some days of those years were idyllic, in the morning, stumbling to get some scones or that amazing pizza from the Biscuit (currently an empty storefront for 5 years or so), or a totally obscure wine and a sandwich from the Cask. Being an artist in Somerville I feel supported and valued by the city; I even have become a little sentimental at Fluff-fest. I really enjoy the vibe and variety of music at the Burren, as I did at Johnny D’s.
Do you have anything upcoming that you’d like to share?
All this talk about mentors and teachers was probably inspired by a concert I’m doing July 17th at 7 pm at The Mad Monkfish on Mass Ave. The rhythm section is me, University of New Hampshire roommate Joshua Davis on bass, and Les Harris, Jr on drums. Les and I share a birthday with Paul McCartney (June 18), and we will be accompanying old friends Jim Pisano and Fred Haas on tenor saxophones. Fred taught at Dartmouth College (now retired) and privately and a prolific performer and taught the rest of us in various contexts. It will be some conversational, swinging jazz and also a profound evening for us.
I’m the President of a Non-Profit, the Seacoast Jazz Society, that is putting on the Seacoast Jazz Festival in Portsmouth, NH, August 23rd in Prescott Park (with peripheral events August 22-25 around town). https://www.seacoastjazz.org
Fellow Somervillian David Thorne Scott and I are frequent collaborators, and we are presenting shows with our group OnWeGo (Dave on bass and voice, me on piano and voice, Eric Byers on guitar and occasional singing, and Sara Caswell on violin) performing original jazz, often with an Americana twist, with lots of vocal harmony. September 25th we are up at the Sahara Club’s Thursday night jazz series (Methuen); the 27th we play a concert at Blue Point Congregational Church in Scarborough, Maine, and the 28th we are in Marblehead for a house concert at Margi’s Garden in Marblehead, Ma.
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About the Artist of the Month
This program is inspired by the Nave Gallery’s “Featured Artist” program, which ran from 2005 to 2009.
SAC’s Artist of the Month program is a way for us to celebrate the enormous wealth of talent in our city, by shining a spotlight on a different creative Somervillian each month.
This program has been put together by a whole raft of people: Coordinators Jenn Harrington (2013-2014) and Kellie Veiga (2013), Gilmore Tammy (2017) and Somerville Arts Council board members Matt Kaliner, Tim Devin, Valeria Amato, and Michael J. Epstein, Bill House (2019-2020), Charan Devereaux (2019-2025), Tori Weston (2019-2025) and Andrea Read (2022-2025). Current coordinators, are Kerrie Kemperman (2019-), Seth Garcia (2025-), and Ben Cuba (2026-).
Know of a great Somerville based artist who should be recognized, please nominate the artist for consideration. We seek artists who contribute to the community through their strong work and community collaborations. Artist should either reside in the City or contribute to the City’s vibrant art scene.