Mark Davenport began playing music at age three, studying recorder with his father, LaNoue Davenport, a prominent name in the Early Music field. He has been performing professionally on renaissance and baroque woodwinds since first touring with the internationally acclaimed New York Pro Music in the late 1970s, including sold-out concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. At age eight Mark began his studies on the cello with Laurence Lessor and later with Judith Davidoff. Mark attended Sarah Lawrence College, on a cello scholarship, before taking a “leave of absence” to go on tour with the Saturday Night Band, which toured the U.S. in the late 70s appearing at such venues as the historic Apollo Theater in New York City. At age 15 he began lessons in both jazz and classical piano and embarked on a songwriting path that spanned more than two decades. Between 1972 and 1992 he wrote some 300 songs and the music and lyrics became a constant thread throughout his life. Many of these songs were performed and recorded with a host of locally popular bands in New York and the Tri-State area.
In 1992 Davenport took a hiatus from songwriting to raise a family and pursue a Ph.D., in musicology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is currently an Associate Professor and Director of Music at Regis University, in Denver, Colorado.
This past year, Mark returned to his songwriting roots to record “Full Circle: Songs on the Carousel of Time.” The album is a retrospective of songs drawn from his imaginative catalogue, and includes several new tracks as well. The variety of songs represents a cross section of popular styles organized into what he describes as a modern-day “song cycle.” “On a personal level, I wanted to create a concept album that expressed certain emotional themes and subjects: dreams, imagination, hope, time… On a purely musical level, I sought to construct a song cycle that fused popular styles with classical forms and compositional techniques.”
Centered on his vocal and keyboard work, these newly recorded songs also feature guitar, recorders, cello, percussion, and appearances by several guest artists, including noted jazz saxophonist Andy Snitzer and Davenport’s son Miles Davenport (guitars).