Mark has been described as ‘a superb, witty player’ (Dave Gelly).
His playing can stretch from the ‘raucous’ (John Fordham) to an ‘exquisite sound and perfect phrasing’ (Brian Blain). Mark is a highly versatile musician who covers all styles from swing to bop (with John Dankworth, Stan Tracey, Alan Barnes) and the contemporary (Julian Arguelles, Nikki Iles).
In 2007 he released Mark Bassey’s Telling Stories an album featuring his own highly programmatic writing. His quintet Bassey Plays Basie also has an album in the pipeline. Mark has been involved with jazz education for many years, teaching trombone and running classes in harmony, improvisation, composition and arranging.