American jazz composer and bassist who is classically trained. He has also played with some of the best in experimental jazz. Mark Dresser, bassist and composer, has developed a distinctive sound and masterful technique over the years. He was part of the L.A. avantgarde jazz scene in the early ’70s and was accompanied by Anthony Braxton’s Quartet on European tours. Dresser also played with the late-’90s N.Y.C. There are many musicians in the downtown area who are regularly booked at venues like Tonic and Knitting Factory. Dresser is well-known for his work as a composer and has been a master at the contrabass. He has performed in many improvisatory settings and with almost every major creative and/or experimental improviser, including Misha Mengelberg and Evan Parker, John Zorn and John Zorn. Since he was twenty years old, he has been a professional musician. He was a member of Stanley Crouch’s Black Music Infinity in the early 1970s. This group included Bobby Bradford and Arthur Blythe as well as James Newton and David Murray. Dresser also played in the San Diego Symphony during this period. He received his M.A. He earned his M.A. at UCSD, where he also studied as an undergrad. In 1986, he moved to New York, where he was invited by the Anthony Braxton Quartet. Dresser toured Europe with the Quartet and recorded with them, which featured pianist Marilyn Crispell as well as drummer Gerry Hemingway in the early ’90s. Dresser spent time in NY composing music for the Tambastics and Arcado String Trio. These two groups, which Dresser performed with, won numerous awards and collectively recorded six CDs. Dresser has been awarded several commissions, one from WDR Radio of Cologne in Germany and another from the McKim fund. Dresser has been a leader in many recordings, including his own quintet, Force Green. He also recorded his original scores for two silent classics, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Invocation was a CD released by Knitting Factory in 1995. Two years later, Banquet, two of Tzadik’s chamber works, was issued by Tzadik. Dresser has been a guest lecturer at Juilliard, UCSD and the National Superior Conservatory of Paris. He had already performed on more than 70 CDs by the late ’90s and was still based in New York. His performances continued to wow audiences in many musical settings. Allmusic
