Internationally touring musician, Mark Zaleski, has distinguished himself as a uniquely dynamic soloist, multi-instrumentalist, and band leader. He has performed with a diverse group of notable artists including Dave Brubeck, Christian McBride, Ian Anderson, Connie Francis, Mahmoud Ahmed, Rakalam Bob Moses, Tiger Okoshi, Antonio Sanchez, the Either/Orchestra, Jason Palmer, and Matt Savage. The Mark Zaleski Band performs a one of a kind jazz/rock blend influences ranging from Cannonball Adderley to Jimi Hendrix, with a fiery front line of two strong saxophonists.

On Oct. 6, 2017, Zaleski released the Mark Zaleski Band’s second record, “Days, Months, Years”. He plays alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, and acoustic bass on the recording; unique to almost every other jazz recording ever made.

Alto and soprano saxophone are Zaleski’s primary axes, but his first musical love was rock music. At the age of 10 he started playing the clarinet and a year later picked up saxophone. While playing classical music in the school bands, his first love was for rock and edgier pop artists like Nirvana, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, and Michael Jackson. This drew him to playing guitar and bass guitar in his friends’ garage bands through middle and high school. It was only when a saxophone teacher of his introduced him to Cannonball Adderley in 8th grade, that Zaleski became passionate about jazz music. Conveniently, this was right around the same time his younger brother learned about Dave Brubeck, and the two of them started playing music together in various settings around Worcester, MA.

This unique path and approach to jazz led him to be the first alto saxophonist to be selected to prestigious Dave Brubeck Institute Fellowship Program in Stockton, CA in 2003. After spending two years there learning from and performing with his virtuosic peers and established pros like Bobby Watson, Ndugu Chancler, Conrad Herwig, Eric Harland, Greg Tardy, Rufus Reid, Robin Eubanks, and Mic Gillette, he moved on upon completion of the program to study at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA. There he was able to study with some of the most influential teachers of his life, Charlie Banacos and Jerry Bergonzi. 

It was there that Zaleski started take composition more seriously. His writing seems to take little bits and pieces of all of the music he grew up listening to. While the band has no vocalist, Zaleski takes on the lead voice channeling a combination of his saxophone heroes (Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy) with inspirational vocalists (Stevie Wonder, Robert Plant, Michael Jackson, and Donny Hathaway). This sound proved to be a unique voice in music, and started touring at clubs, colleges, and festivals all around the country. Notable appearances have been at Small’s in New York City, the Regattabar in Boston, Egan’s in Seattle, The Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival, All About Jazz in Seoul, and Vitello in Los Angeles.

Currently Zaleski is also active in many other musical projects including the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble, Brighton Beat, Planet Radio, Mehmet Ali Sanlikol and Whatsnext, Chris Hersch and the Moonraiders, Nyota Road, and Mark and Glenn’s duo project. Before he turned 30 years old, he earned faculty positions at the Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, and Longy School of Music at Bard College.

"Mark Zaleski band brings to the stage what every show-goer is looking for: excellent knowledge of their genre as shown through the love for their music, a contagious excitement that transforms the space, and great tunes”
- Flowers In A Gun

“(The Mark Zaleski Band) is an act that fuses their conservatory jazz with a slightly different approach to rock, coming at the latter from the stylistic and melodic flourishes of Zappa, Zeppelin, Hendrix and The Beatles. There are even some instrumental prog-esque moments — ponder Gentle Giant’s “On Reflection” to get an idea — and all of these elements make the Zaleski band’s debut album “Days, Months, Years” an exhilarating, fresh and dynamics-happy listening experience” 
 - The Day, New London, CT

“Zaleski is a roving pioneer of the alto saxophone”
– Boston Concert Reviews

“Mark Zaleski never figured his musical itinerary would include backing everyone from Joan Rivers to Jethro Tull.  But that’s exactly the kind of versatility that makes the Mark Zaleski Band one of the more compelling jazz-rock fusion groups on the contemporary scene.”
– The Patriot Ledger