Mark Kelso

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About Mark Kelso

Mark Kelso is not your typical Canadian or your typical drummer. He doesn’t follow hockey, root for The Toronto Maple Leafs, live on poutine, or eat all of his meals at Tim Hortons. However, after getting over that initial shock, you’ll find that this Toronto resident is not only a very well-rounded musician, he’s the drummer extraordinaire for the kick-ass band, The Jazz Exiles. And not only does Mark Kelso lead, play drums, and produce the band’s recordings, he also composes for the band.

The Jazz Exiles current line-up has been together for five years, so their sound is even tighter, punchier and more cohesive than on the previous two recordings (Elementals and Stealing from My Youth.) The Jazz Exiles feature the all-star talents of Canadian bass virtuoso Rich Brown, Cuban-born alto sax player Luis Deniz, guitar whiz Elmer Ferrer and Jeremy Ledbetter on piano & keyboards. These players bring Mark’s compositions to a whole new level, and bring big smiles to the faces of their fans.

On their new album, The Dragon’s Tail, you can put all of that Canadian politeness and gentility aside. Mark showcases his Afro-Cuban and Brazilian influences playing with a muscular edge complete with lightning single and double strokes, flams, and intensity. Sounding like a perennial combination of Carlos Vega, Steve Gadd and Vinnie Colaiuta. Kelso is equal part groove and fire.
The secret to Kelso and The Jazz Exiles’ success is their collective musical maturity that is sowing the seeds of musical exploration and creativity. The band has been nominated for two Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent to the Grammy’s,) and coming out of the constrictions of the pandemic, Mark and the band expect to be mainstays of the 2023 jazz festival circuit playing the Toronto Jazz Fest, the Montreal Jazz Fest, and the Rochester Jazz Fest.

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MD Mag ArticlesMD Web NewsMD Podcasts

Note: Some MD articles are only available in pdf format. Those articles do not appear in this list. Subscribers to Digital and All-Access can view every Modern Drummer issue in their available formats. Browse all MD issues from our archive here.

Mark Kelso Expect the Unexpected

Posted: May 5, 2016

Category: Clinics and Events, News, News and Events
WhackBamThudd Presents Reel Rhythm Percussion Event

The 2016 WhackBamThudd drumset/Latin Reel Rhythm percussion event will take place at the Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon, Sask Canada…

Posted: November 2, 2015

Category: Feature Stories
Dom Famularo’s Teachers List

Over the course of his forty-year career traveling the globe to teach, perform, and conduct clinics, Dom Famularo has interacted with some of the finest drummers and drum instructors in the world. The following list contains many of those names, organized by country/continent. If you’re looking for top-notch drum instruction, …

Posted: September 5, 2013

Category: Clinics and Events, News, News and Events
2013 Regina Drum Festival

The third annual Regina Drum Festival will take place on September 28 and 29 at the Exchange and the Club in Regina, Saskatchewan, which is located at 2431 8th Avenue….

Posted: January 16, 2008

Category: Feature Stories
Best Of ’07

I’m convinced that, ten years from now, we’re going to look back at 2007 as an unusually fertile time in music and in drumming.

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