Saxophonist Mark O’Connor, an Austin, Texas native, has been part of the Chicago and Milwaukee music scenes since 1996 as a performer, composer and educator. His debut CD on Blujazz productions, Mirage, spent eight weeks on the national jazz radio charts, peaked at number 18 and garnered such praise as:

“With his hearty sound and bristling ideas, O’Connor can bowl over even a jaded follower of post-bop jazz.” - Neil Tesser, Author, The Playboy Guide to Jazz,

“A very good saxophonist he is… melodically and rhythmically engaging lines… expressiveness and melodic sensitivity.” - Jazz Times Magazine.

“O’Connor’s tone is warm and fat… unison melody lines are outstanding… the compositions on the album are something else.” - Jazz Improv Magazine

Suspended Reality, the new CD by the Mark O’Connor Quintet, contains more exciting original straight ahead jazz composed by O’Connor, along with the evergreen ballad A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square and Johnny Griffin’s tribute to Thelonious Monk entitled A Monk’s Dream. The CD is being played by radio stations all over the country and has been described as:

“…a brilliant, hard-swinging recording of modern, original compositions. With a base of memorable melodies that focus on the groove and a musical beauty that can edify both the listener and musician alike, the soloists can freely explore, creating a rich and organic musical landscape.” - OA2 Records

O’Connor has performed with such notables as Rufus Reid, Arturo Sandoval, Henry Butler, Steve Turre and Joe Williams. O’Connor’s quintet, formed in 2001, has performed at numerous venues throughout the Midwest including The Green Mill, The Elbo Room, The Skokie Theatre, The Chicago Cultural Center and The Rogers Park Jazz Festival in Chicago; The Elephant Room in Austin, TX and The Jazz Estate in Milwaukee.

O’Connor is an alumnus of the world-renowned jazz program at the University of North Texas, where he studied with Dan Haerle and Fred Hamilton. He also attended Eastern Illinois University where he had the priviledge of working with New Orleans piano luminary Henry Butler and Chicago pianist and producer of Mirage, Mark Maegdlin.

After a ten year residency in Chicago, O’Connor decided to further his education yet again, working on a doctorate in jazz performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While there he worked closely with Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman alumni Chip McNeill and Chip Stephens.

O’Connor is back in Chicago and is involved in two major projects – The Mark O’Connor Quintet and their newest CD, Suspended Reality; and his doctoral dissertation regarding tenor saxophonist Joe Farrell. For more information please see http://www.markoconnorjazz.com