Written interview with bassist Mark Wade – New Stages. Mark Wade is a quietly compelling force in contemporary jazz – an artist whose work speaks not through excess, but through clarity, intention, and deeply rooted musicality.
A bassist, composer Mark Wade brings a refined sensitivity to his instrument. His playing is marked by a warm, resonant tone and a lyrical approach that allows the bass to sing as much as it supports. Rather than simply anchoring harmony, he shapes the emotional contour of a piece – guiding listeners through subtle shifts in mood and texture.
His projects, particularly the Mark Wade Trio, reflect a thoughtful balance between structure and spontaneity. There is an elegance in how his compositions unfold: melodies breathe, rhythms stretch and settle, and silence is given as much meaning as sound. Influenced by the lineage of jazz greats yet unmistakably modern, Wade’s music feels both grounded and exploratory.
Beyond performance, his dedication to the craft extends into education and collaboration, where he fosters a deeper appreciation for the bass as a voice of nuance and storytelling. To listen to Mark Wade is to encounter restraint used as power – an artistry that invites you in gently, and lingers long after the final note fades.
Jazz Blues European Union: – Thank you for taking the time to have this interview with Jazz Blues EU. Tell us about your music. When did you start performing?
Mark Wade: – I did not come from a musical household. I was the first of my family to pursue a career music. I started playing the Electric Bass when I was about 14 years old. I was self-taught a year up until I went to college. After a year of lessons, I auditioned to study at New York University, where I spent the next four years studying with the great Mike Richmond. About halfway through college I switched to playing the acoustic bass. Two years later, I graduated and was making a living playing acoustic bass in the jazz scene in New York City.
What do you consider to be your hometown and how does that affect your music?
I moved around a lot, particularly when I was a kid. I was born in the Midwest, the United States and lived in a number of places there before moving to New Jersey by time I was seven years old. I spent the rest of my childhood in New Jersey before moving to New York City to pursue a career music. I’ve moved several times within New York City since I’ve been here. That sense of perpetual motion in my life is something which inspired my second trio album release in 2018 entitled Moving Day. There are a lot of emotions that come with moving – the excitement of going somewhere new, letting go of a place that is familiar and comfortable to you. I find that the same things relate directly to the experience of playing music as well.
What performers have been your inspiration?
From a straight ahead, Jazz perspective, Paul Chambers and Ray Brown have been a big influence. For more modern jazz playing there are several players that come to mind – Scott LoFarro, Red Mitchell, Michael Moore, and my teacher Mike Richmond. As a composer, Charles Mingus and Wayne Shorter were big influences for me.
What do you find most challenging about being an independent artist in today’s music industry?
The most difficult thing is attracting an audience to your music in my opinion. Particularly in the jazz genre, there is a limited pool of potential audience members as compared to other more popular forms of music. There are a lot of very talented, jazz musicians out there, deserving of wider recognition, so in increasing your visibility and raising your profile is a constant challenge for me and many others in my position. I’ve been fortunate to have some successes in this regard, but there’s always more ground to cover.
What do you base your success on?
I think the most important thing that has allowed me to advance in my career is perseverance. Acareer in the music business is not built overnight, and it requires a lot of consistent hard work to maintain what you have and progress from there. There are many talented people out there who never manage to sustain a career in the music business. Talent is not enough. Being consistent and always putting in the necessary work to be successful on and off the stage is essential.
Can you talk about your experiences collaborating with other artists or musicians? How does it influence your creative process?
Besides playing in my own band, I am a side man on several other projects, so I am very accustomed to collaborating with other musicians in various different situations. That is a prerequisite for being a working musician in New York City. For my own band, I may write the music and set the musical direction for the group, but I’m always open to feedback from the other players. It’s important for me that the music sounds like a conversation between three people and not something dictated by me.
What was your latest musical release?
I’ve just recently released my fourth piano trio album entitled New Stages. I partnered with Dot Time Records for this release. This is the first time I’m releasing my music on a label and not doing it independently.
Do you have any news to share? Could you share the story behind your latest new CD Mark Wade Trio – New Stages and what inspired its creation?
I play classical music as well as jazz. Over the years, I’ve always been deeply moved by some of the classical music I’ve had the great fortune to perform. For New Stages, I’ve compiled some of this music and reimagined it through the lens of a jazz piano trio. Sometimes I’ve taken large orchestral works and distilled them down to their essence, other times I’ve taken smaller solo works and expanded it out for the trio. The goal of the music is to make it sound like it belongs in a set of my own original compositions, as opposed to just being “covers” of the original. This project is eight years in the making.
How does your latest album fit into your creative path? Is this a goal you wanted to achieve?
Composition has always been important for me. My previous recordings of all heavily featured my own original works. While I started writing the music for New Stages about eight years ago, I decided that before I released a project like this I wanted to establish myself as a composer of original music. In that time, I released two additional piano trio records Moving Day (2018) and True Stories (2022). While new stages is very much a amalgam of both my original writing and the source material, I felt it was finally time to try a project like this, which was a a bit different from my previous recordings.
How do you approach the process of songwriting, and are there any specific themes or emotions you tend to explore in your music?
I always try to consider the main theme of the music first. I don’t get caught up with writing specific cord, progressions, or consider the larger structure of this song for me. Those things are always dictated by the melodic, thematic material that makes up the composition. I also never write from from the perspective of what would be “comfortable” as the bass player playing the song. I never want to have the music be constrained by what I feel is best for the instrument, but rather what is best for the overall musical presentation.
As an indie musician, how do you navigate the balance between creative freedom and commercial appeal?
I think the best thing anyone can do is always produce an honest, personal musical statement. What others choose to think of the music is up to them. The best I can do is produce something that I am proud of and can stand behind. I always try to consider what would be a coherent musical presentation to the listener, but I’m not concerned with what I think will be “commercially” appealing.
What role does technology and social media play in promoting your music and connecting with your audience?
Our lives are increasingly online these days, so having a presence there is essential for reaching people and connecting them to my music. I’ve been very active on social media and I have found that with consistent see there. I’ve been able to reach a wider audience for sure.
Could you describe a memorable live performance experience or tour that has had a lasting impact on you and your music?
I’ve had many musical performances that have impacted me over the years, too many to mention here. I will say the most recent tour I had of Europe in promoting New Stages was extremely encouraging. There were great responses from the audience and it’s always great to see people connecting with my music.
In an era of streaming platforms, how do you feel about the changing landscape of music consumption and its impact on independent musicians?
Streaming platforms have conditioned audiences to be able to access an unlimited amount of music for almost no cost compared to years past when someone had to actually buy a physical copy of your music to listen to it. Unfortunately, that model means that creators like myself are never truly compensated for their efforts to go into producing the music in the first place. I don’t think there’s any way to return to a business model that sees artist compensated fairly. Once something is free, it’s very hard to turn around and ask people to pay for it. Sadly, this is the landscape we must operate in these days. It certainly makes things more challenging.
Musicians often have a close relationship with their fanbase. How do you engage with your fans and build a dedicated community around your music?
Having a regular online presence certainly helps. In general, it’s important to continue to produce music and content for a fan base to keep them engaged. That means continually writing new music and looking forward to future projects. Long-term planning is key here.
How can fans find you? Lastly, please share some final words with the fans.
I can be found at my website www.MarkWadeMusicNY.com as well as on social media at Facebook.com/mark.wade.319/ and Instagram @markwadebass. Thanks for listening!
By Olivia Peevas
