Here are groups with whom I've recorded :
Jesse Young - The Brunch Duo :
Sound for the Organization of Society :
Devin Phillips and New Orleans Straight Ahead - Wade in the Water :
Quintology - Quintology :
Quintology - Blues By 5 :
Brian Prunka - In Praise of Shadows :
Geoff Green - The Geoff Green Qaurtet :
Michael Jenner - The Michael Jenner Group :
Olivier Bou - Boo-Sha-O-Ray :
Chevere - Baila Mi Ritmo :
3 now 4 - The Book of Spells :
The Naked Orchestra - Brief Repairs on the Gradually Unravelling Spool in the Sense
Continuum :
Naked on the Floor - Naked on the Floor :
John Dubois - It's Never Too Late : Sandy Dennison - Jazzed! : Anya Kozorez - In the City : Kermit Venerable and The Beau Bassin Cajun Band - Beau Bassin
Influences
Brian Blade, Johnny Vidacovich, Tommy Lee, James Singleton, Ed Petersen, Jeff Ballard, Thich Nhat Hanh
Sounds Like
Groups and people with whom I have the pleasure to perform :
Nicholas Payton : Astral Project : The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars : Quintology : James Singleton : 3 now 4 : Devin Phillips and New Orleans Straight Ahead : Maurice Brown : Brian Prunka : Mahfouz : The Near East River Ensemble : Naked on the Floor : The Naked Orchestra : Rob Wagner : Ed Petersen : Steve Masakowski : Michael Jenner : Geoff Green : Charlie Dennard : Brian Seeger : Sophie Faught : Jesse Young : The Marcus Reynolds/Farnell Newton group : Ed Bennet : Steve Cristofferson : David Valdez : Dan Gainer : The Andrew Oliver Quintet : Tom Sandahl : Sandy Dennison : Andre St. James : Kelley Johnson : Anna Coogan : Jill Cohn
I grew up in Philadelphia, PA..."Philly". I started drumming at age 16 with the support of my Uncle Dennis who gave me a drumset and my family who dealt with the noise. Shuffled off to college at Pennsylvania State University where I somehow earned a B.S. in Physics but more importantly met some of my best friends.....
In 1993 I moved to New Orleans seeking to tap into the source of jazz. By 1999 I had toured Austria and Italy, graduated with a M.M. in Jazz Performance from the University of New Orleans and had recorded the "Best new Jazz Album in New Orleans, 1999". Playing on the scene in New Orleans with great bands such as Astral Project, Quintology, The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, James Singleton and Ed Petersen shaped my person and my performing.
In 2002 I left The Big Easy to wander through the forests and search for something or nothing. I had a short and difficult time in Brooklyn, New York and then a few months at Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh’s buddhist monastery in Thenac, France. Back to New Orleans in the beginning of 2005 and back to music. Hurricane Katrina flooded me out of that magical city and I washed up on the west coast in Portland, Oregon.
Portland and the people have been kind, helpful and gracious. I was performing all over the city with great local musicians as well as a small contingency of displaced New Orleanians and now I find myself in Seattle. Fixed up by friends with Lilla Fiumi who soon became Lilla DiFlorio brought me up another state to Washington. I’m just breaking into the Seattle scene and I see that deep inside this city is the kindness of the NW with the edge of a big city. I am teaching drum lessons privately out of my home studio, Red Sparkle Drum Studio, and toddler/parent music classes at NW Musicworks as well as gigging with a few singers.
My musical interests are widely varied and I see that my performing and listening interests are sometimes different. I most enjoy listening to music that touches my heart as well as my mind but rarely enjoy music for my mind only. I enjoy performing music and in a situation that deeply connects with the listener. I’ve just recently seen that for me, music is about connecting with people.
I have a few drum sets, a 4 piece custom Ayotte, a 4 piece Gretsch Catilina Club but I mostly gig on my five piece Yamaha Maple Custom drumset. I am ecstatic to announce that I now endorse Bosphorus Cymbals. They are some of the finest cymbals being made today. Currently I am using a 22" Master Series Ride, a 21" Master Series Ride and 13" Master Series hi-hats. More to come. I also have studied the Indian Tabla as well as the Egyptian Riq, Darbouka and Tar.
I edited my profile with Thomas’ Myspace Editor V4.4
hi Mark.l was listening to Devin the other day and it reminded me of your amazing gigs in dakar.l hope u feel good. so lm still in london but i'm going back to senegal soon.
Man.. you connect me in every beat! I can't wait for our show tomorrow night! see you there! Tomorrow night, TUESDAY, APRIL 29th. 8:30pm (Jill's Band is the middle band from 9:30 to 10:45) Nectar Lounge | 412 N. 36th St., Seattle WA 98103 Phone: 206.632.2020 | Fax: 206.632.3367
ALONG WITH MY BAND: Brady Millard-Kish-bass, Mark DiFlorio-drums, Ron Leonardi-keyboards & Rob Heartwood-electric guitar we also are sharing the night with Anna Coogan & the Water babies!!!
come on out... we'll be rocking the Nectar Lounge & it's a COOL COOL space! see you there. JILL
i've been trying to figure out what it means to be an Alfani man, but i'm hopeless. i can only assume it's extremely positive! hope things are good with you, c
Just thinking about you and Lilla and wondering when you're returning to the States. I'm looking forward to hearing about the wedding and your travels. Ciao!
Hey man, just wanted to say cheers! And I hope all is well. I thought about you when I heard this song. It makes you think about having a daughter, in case you have one.
A big thanks to all my friends... I just went over 10,000 listens on my player. I've added a fifth tune to my player, an arrangement of Scott Henderson's "Harpoon", the leader and guitar player of Tribal Tech.
