Mark Colby -

Mark Colby (born 1949) is an American jazz-funk tenor and soprano saxophonist from Brooklyn. He spent 1975–78 with Maynard Ferguson, then joined Bob James, who signed him to Columbia for the albums Serpentine Fire and One Good Turn. Colby later worked with Jaco Pastorius, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, and Charlie Haden while maintaining a Chicago-based recording and teaching career.

Background

Mark Steven Colby was born April 18, 1949, in Brooklyn, New York. His father worked as a professional drummer and vibraphonist and performed with bandleader Benny Goodman. Colby received a clarinet at age eight and studied with Bill Schlagle. He added saxophone around age twelve after hearing Stan Getz.

The Colby family left Brooklyn in 1962 and settled in Miami. By his mid-teens, Colby played weddings, bar mitzvahs, and Miami Beach hotel shows behind touring entertainers such as Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis Jr. As a high-school student, he studied with saxophonist James Casale, co-author with Jerry Coker of Patterns for Jazz. At age sixteen, Colby began sitting in with multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan.

Colby entered the University of Miami jazz program in 1967 and studied with Coker and pianist Vince Maggio. He earned a Bachelor of Music in 1972 and returned for a Master of Music in jazz studies at the same university. Colby and pianist-composer Ron Miller also developed university jam sessions into the Miller/Colby band. He worked with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan through a university artist-residency program.

College session work placed Colby on the 1974 Dr. John album Desitively Bonnaroo, with clarinet and tenor saxophone, and the 1974 Bill Wyman album Monkey Grip, with clarinet and soprano and tenor saxophones in the Boneroo Horns. A University of Miami jazz-band tape that drummer Danny Gottlieb sent to Maynard Ferguson brought Colby his next job when Ferguson needed a tenor saxophonist.

Colby joined the Maynard Ferguson band in June 1975, one month after graduation, and opened with the group in Baltimore. He became a featured soloist and musical director, with appearances on Primal Scream, Conquistador, and New Vintage. Bob James produced Primal Scream and played keyboards on Conquistador, which brought him into repeated studio contact with Colby.

James signed Colby to Tappan Zee in 1977 under Columbia distribution. The contract placed Colby in New York studios with producer Jay Chattaway for the 1978 debut Serpentine Fire.

Discography: