Originally hailing from Nottingham, England, New York City based bassist Mark Lewandowski musical journey began with him leaving home to study at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music in London. It was during these years at the Guildhall School that Mark began rapidly producing a strong name for himself as a fixture of the London jazz scene; playing regularly at the world famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, by only his second year in the capital. After graduating with a first class honours degree from the Guildhall School, Mark had the great honour of being awarded the Yamaha Jazz Award, which was presented to him by the UK Government at the Houses of Parliament. During this period he began a period of intense study with American master-bassist, the great Henry Grimes (Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane). During this period in London, Mark had the opportunity to perform at many of the major concert halls and festivals in the United Kingdom including The Barbican, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, Pizza Express Jazz Club with a diverse range of musicians both established and up- and-coming, including mainstays of the British jazz scene such as Sir John Dankworth, Julian Joseph, Alan Skidmore, Bobby Wellins, Peter King, Christine Tobin, Liam Noble, Jean Toussaint, Mark Lockheart, Julian Siegel, John Warren, Mark Sanders, Soweto Kinch and Paul Dunmall. 2017 saw the release of Mark’s debut release ‘Waller’ on Whirlwind Recordings label. This album solidified his reputation as a stellar bandleader and received rave reviews internationally. Featuring two of the most respected musicians on the European jazz circuit, pianist Liam Noble and drummer Paul Clarvis, Waller is an exploration of the music of one of the early innovators of the jazz genre, Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller. The album featured highly in critical polls ranking at Number 3 in Chris Phillips’ Jazz FM Charts. This same year saw a seismic change, as Mark was accepted into the world famous Juilliard School’s highly prized Artist Diploma Ensemble. It was this that facilitated his move to New York City in August of 2017. Having only been in the United States for a little over 2 years, Mark’s career has taken off in the same rapid way that it had back home in the United Kingdom. He has been fortunate to work with such luminaries as Wynton Marsalis, John Surman, Joe Chambers, Johnny O’Neal, Steve Wilson, Javon Jackson, JD Allen, Sheila Jordan, Billy Drummond, Grant Stewart, Vic Juris, Dave Kikoski and many more. Mark Lewandowski’s multiple recording credits occupy all areas of the jazz genre including such major artists as American cult composer and saxophonist John Zorn with whom Mark is featured on his Tzadik release ‘The Book of Beriah’ and closer to home with the Leo Richardson Quartet, who’s record ‘The Chase’ was selected as one of the Sunday Times ‘Best 100 Albums of the Year’ in all genres.