Mark Davis first learned to play classical piano at age eight, but his gift for improvisation and composition carried him over to the world of jazz. He performed in Milwaukee jazz clubs as a teenager, building his substantial jazz skills with local legends. 

 

He later studied with Jazz Master and Bebop authority Barry Harris, who inspired Mark to both teach and play jazz. Mark has performed with more than fifty jazz stars and he has encouraged many young jazz pianists, including Dan Nimmer of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

 

Mark lights up the Milwaukee Jazz scene with the group he formed, the award winning We Six, and he also performs in trios and solos. He chaired the Jazz Studies department at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music for more than a quarter century, and then founded the Milwaukee Jazz Institute (MJI) in 2019. 

 

He shares his love of jazz and sense of humor while teaching jazz lessons and MJI workshops, both in person and virtually, He has even found time to transcribe Miles Davis for the Hal Leonard music publishing company, and to create the Hal Leonard Jazz Piano Method books.