Mark Shiner Quartet | Live From The Palace Theater
Project Release: Mark Shiner Quartet
Arts at the Palace
Mark Shiner Quartet | Full Live Set (video)
Making of the Mark Shiner Quartet | Artist Profile (video
On April 12th, 2025 longtime Saturday Jazz contributor Mark Shiner stepped into a new role with the debut of the Mark Shiner Quartet - a new project for him as bandleader. Featuring top-tier collaborators and a shared love for legendary jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, the performance reflects years of creative partnership and a deep commitment to community-based music-making.
Mark's history with the Palace stretches back to an earlier series, Jazz at Noon, led by Jim and Dianne Adams MacDowell. When the MacDowells stepped away, Mark was asked to take over, but held back until he could imagine something that felt more within his skill set. “I thought if I could focus on particular composers and soloists I could really make something that I’d enjoy,” he recalls, “and I hoped that others would enjoy.” When the current Saturday Jazz series took shape, it became a platform not only for presenting great music, but for building something original - an evolving band with a distinct identity.
A turning point came when saxophonist and composer Brian Stark moved to Hamilton. “Here was someone I could really work with and whose playing I adored immediately,” says Mark. That connection, along with the creative freedom of a monthly residency at the Palace, opened the door for something new. “We discovered, to our surprise, that a lot of people enjoyed what we were doing. So it’s been a great, fun thing to see each month as a new challenge and an opportunity to be creative.” [Saturday Jazz 2024 Video]
Photos by Ryan John Lee
Mark doesn’t see himself strictly as a jazz drummer, but as “a musician who tries to make a valuable and supportive contribution in whatever I’m doing.” His approach is rooted in care and connection. “I want to make beautiful things, mostly, and - at the risk of sounding overly earnest - I want to do what I can to alleviate the suffering of others in whatever way I can.” That ethos has shaped a career spanning musical theater, blues, sacred music, rock, and jazz—working with both Grammy winners and college students, in barrooms and concert halls.
The formation of the Mark Shiner Quartet feels like a natural outgrowth of years of musical friendships. “I’ve been playing on and off with Dave Solazzo and Matt Vacanti for years,” he says. “They’re just the loveliest, least ego-driven people and it’s so easy to play with them.” The fourth member is Stark, with whom Mark also performs in the genre-blending Fiddle Sax Fusion Band. “Everyone in the band is also a bandleader in his own right,” he notes, “so that’s a wonderful level of experience to have at my disposal.”
Album Cover By Aurora Roe
The group's first outing takes on the challenging and endlessly rewarding repertoire of Thelonious Monk. “This release shows the band taking our very first run at this music as a group,” Mark explains. “Although I’ve done dozens of gigs with each member of the band, the group itself is pretty new.” Future performances will deepen their exploration of Monk's catalog while expanding into original material and works by other composers. “The goal is to get together and develop a sound, a repertoire, and an approach that’ll make this a genuinely exciting band to come and hear.”
While Shiner has spent less time in the broader Central New York jazz scene in recent years, he’s quick to credit a long list of early collaborators and regional luminaries who shaped his artistic life - players like Rick Montalbano, Joe Carello, John Rohde, Joe Ferlo, Glenn Cashman, and longtime musical partners like Dave Solazzo. He recalls performing with CNY blues fixtures like Bernie Clarke and Tom Townsley, playing traditional jazz with the Bearcat Jass Band, electric jazz with ESP, and logging many gigs with Solazzo as the duo Struggle Bus. “We’ve had lots of opportunities to play jazz in both concert and commercial settings, and I’m grateful for all the music we’ve gotten to make together.”
Locally, Mark sees reason for optimism. “There’s a lot of new blood in the arts here in Hamilton,” he says, “and we’re all kind of proving that there is an audience for good stuff.” That extends to a growing student music scene, his collaborations with local musicians like Henry Howard and Dave Montanye and openness to new projects with old friends. “I’m hopeful,” he says simply.
And as for what’s next? “This project is certainly iterative,” Mark says. “I just want to keep taking the next great step we can take together - and to see what we can get away with musically.”
