Marko Marcinko – Jazz at The Other Side

During his years in the music industry, Marko Marcinko has worked as a freelance musician playing drum set, percussion, piano/keyboards, bass guitar, vocals, and trombone. He has also served as a studio session player, composer, arranger, musical director and producer for numerous commercial jingles, indie-films and off-Broadway club and theater engagements. Born in Archbald, Pennsylvania, Marcinko studied technique with drumming master Joe Morello and continued his training at the University of Miami (FL) where he studied classical, jazz, contemporary, Brazilian and Afro-Cuban styles under professors Fred Wickstrom, Steve Bagby, Steve Rucker, Harry Hawthorne, and Ney Resaro. Marcinko toured and recorded with jazz legend Maynard Ferguson in the mid-’90s and with NEA jazz master Dave Liebman as a member of the Dave Liebman Group 2000-2014. He currently works with the Grammy-nominated Dave Liebman Big Band and the Organik Vibe Trio, The Hal Galper Trio, The Marko Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet, The Ruth’s Chris Jazz Trio and the Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band. He is an Emmy nominated and Grammy nominated artist as well as the founder and artistic director of the PA Jazz Alliance Inc., the Scranton Jazz Festival and the Montgomery County Jazz Festival. Marko is also a founding member of the Wilkes Barre Cavalcade of Jazz Festival and has served as a music consultant, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States, Canada, Cuba, South America, eastern/western Europe, and Japan. Over the past 33 years, he has performed with jazz greats: Joe Henderson, Phil Woods, Jimmy Heath, Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, Arturo Sandoval, Bob Dorough, Red Rodney, Jon Faddis, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Mulgrew Miller, Delfeayo Marsalis, Wallace Roney, John Pizzarelli, Kurt Elling, Tierney Sutton, Janis Siegel, Terell Stafford, Joe Lovano, Anthony Jackson, Mike Stern and Will Lee. Also with popular musicians and entertainers including: John Legend, Jon Secada, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Joan Rivers, Jay Leno, Connie Francis, Joe Piscopo, Don Rickles, Melba Moore, Juan Gabriel, Judy McLane, Clay Aiken, Bob Newhart and Nicol Williamson. For the past 27 years, professor Marcinko has served as director of jazz and contemporary music for the PA Jazz Institute. After serving as adjunct jazz studies professor at Penn State University (1999-2016), he became the director of jazz studies from (2016-2022), where he lead the premiere award winning jazz ensemble “Centre Dimensions”, created the first Penn State jazz vocal ensemble, ”Vocal Dimensions”, and developed a minor degree in jazz and contemporary music. He has also served as adjunct professor of jazz at Lehigh University, Marywood University, SUNY Orange College and The Univ. of Richmond. Currently, he serves as Director of Music Performance / artist-in-residence at Misericordia University, Dallas, PA. THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: FlavoredLayers – sponsor for 2025-2026 headliners – https://w...