Mark Feldman

Classically trained from childhood, violinist Mark Feldman has earned recognition as a virtuoso whose boundary-pushing projects merge classical technique with avant-garde jazz. After beginning his career as a studio musician in Nashville, he drew widespread praise during the 1990s for his contributions to New York’s creative music circles alongside John Zorn, Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, and Michael Formanek. His recordings range from the introspective solo statements of 1995’s Music for Violin Alone to the probing small-group explorations of 2006’s What Exit?, which features pianist John Taylor. Feldman has maintained an ongoing partnership with his spouse, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, issuing a series of refined albums that blend classical and jazz influences, among them 2006’s Malphas: Book of Angels, Vol. 3 and 2019’s Time Gone Out. In 2021 he returned to unaccompanied format on Sounding Point.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Feldman first encountered the violin at age nine while in elementary school. He pursued classical studies and, during his teenage years, performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In his early twenties he relocated to Nashville, joining both the Nashville Symphony and the CBS Television Orchestra associated with the Grand Ole Opry. Adapting swiftly to Western swing and country fiddle traditions, he toured and recorded with country figures such as Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, and Johnny Cash.

Feldman settled in New York in 1987, where he immersed himself in jazz and creative music circles, collaborating with John Zorn, Muhal Richard Abrams, Billy Hart, and Michael Formanek. Only in the mid-1990s did he begin issuing his own projects, commencing with the solo recital Music for Violin Alone in 1995. Additional affiliations include membership in the Arcado String Trio and the experimental New and Used ensemble alongside Dave Douglas.

Subsequent releases encompass 1997’s Music for Piano and Violin, recorded with Courvoisier (whom he married in 2000), and 2005’s Book of Tells: Five Pieces for String Quartet, which unites Feldman with violinists Joyce Hammann and Cenovia Cummins, violist Lois Martin, and cellist Erik Friedlander. He has remained active as a session musician, appearing on numerous recordings by Chris Potter, Tim Berne, Uri Caine, and others. In 2004 he served as concertmaster and performer on Michael Brecker’s Grammy-winning big-band album Wide Angles.

Feldman has sustained regular work with Courvoisier, contributing to 2006’s Malphas: Book of Angels, Vol. 3 and to her 2007 release Lonelyville. His first ECM date as a leader arrived in 2006 with What Exit?, featuring John Taylor, Anders Jormin, and Tom Rainey. Moving to Tzadik, he issued Secrets in 2009 with pianist Caine, bassist Greg Cohen, and drummer Joey Baron, followed a year later by the duo album Oblivia again with Courvoisier.

In 2013 the couple released Birdies for Lulu, which presents Feldman’s quartet together with guests Scott Colley and Billy Mintz. Further Intakt Records collaborations include 2016’s Miller’s Tale with Evan Parker and Ikue Mori and 2019’s Time Gone Out. Feldman revisited the solo violin idiom in 2021 on Sounding Point.