Biography

Mark Neil Jones is a distinguished New York-based multidisciplinary artist who has been hailed by critics, peers and fans alike as “a renaissance man” who has produced world-class works in the fields of visual arts, music, poetry, essays, as well as being highly regarded as a longtime practitioner and teacher of the Chinese internal martial arts.

Short Bio

Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952 of Russian Jewish descent, Jones (The family name was changed at Ellis Island in 1914 from “Ionis”) studied at the University of Miami, Kent State University where he earned a BFA in painting, and Columbia University as well as at the Westchester Conservatory of Music and privately with renowned musicians such as Antonas Smetona, Walter Bishop Jr., Cecil Taylor and Sal Mosca. Mark has shown his art in numerous galleries, held a post as an art professor and performed his music and has had his music performed in a number of high profile jazz clubs, theaters, and performance spaces, recorded 8 albums and has taught art and music in college and privately. In non-artistic activities, he also studied psychotherapy at Columbia when he interned at Harlem Valley Psychiatric and started several successful businesses.

Mark N Jones — Jones with his painting, “The Third World”

Mark has had a plethora of articles and letters appear in such publications as the New York Times, the Village Voice, Newsweek, Art in America, The New York Jewish Week, the Cleveland Jewish News, Downbeat, Blackbelt, Tai Chi Magazine, Inside Kung Fu, Dirty Linen, Car & Driver, Ron Lambert’s book “Honoring the Legacy of B.P. Chan” and others; has appeared in Jeff Stevenson’s book “Fortney Road,” James Segrest and Mark Hoffman’s “The Life and Times of Howlin’ Wolf,” liner notes of the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival album, and has had online essays praised internationally by distinguished scholars and authors. He also has been a serious practitioner and teacher of Chinese internal martial arts and philosophy for many decades, having had the privilege of studying kung fu and philosophy with the great master Bun Piac

(B.P.) Chan in New York, and has subsequently taught martial arts and meditation both in the USA and overseas privately and in workshops. Mark began writing poetry in 1970 and has seriously pursued and refined his poetic art attending workshops by Robert Creeley, Galway Kinnell, Robert Duncan and other notable poets as well as having read and exchanged ideas with other contemporary poets. Jones has lived the majority of his life in Westchester County, NY with over 20 years of winters spent in Rio de Janeiro. Since 2017, he has resided in Putnam Valley, NY, in a secluded house on 9 acres, tucked deep into the woods with a stream in front and mountain behind where he can commune with nature and attend to his writing, painting, composing, practicing and working out.

Full Biography

Early Life

Mark Jones blowing harp in Mo Schwartz Blues Band, Cleveland — Blowing harp in Mo Schwartz Blues Band, Cleveland

Mark Jones was born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 19, 1952, and from an early age showed a propensity for drawing and music, having won a grade school art contest and was able to play his sister’s piano lesson by simply listening to it from another room. He went on to take painting courses at the Cleveland Institute of Art, private piano lessons, and gave a recital at the Cleveland Music Settlement at the age of 9. In high school, Mark became smitten with blues music, and began immersing himself in the study of blues on piano, guitar and harmonica.

MJ on Ford with guitar, Cardington Dr., Beachwood, Ohio

He took piano lessons at jazz legend Bill DeArango’s studio, and then he and guitarist pal Darryl Berk formed the Mo Schwartz Blues Band, which performed around Cleveland. Blues great Junior Wells heard him playing piano in Ann Arbor at the Blues Festival, and gave him the seal of approval when he joined in singing and playing harp with Mark. This event is documented in the liner notes of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival multi-disk album.

With Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf & Big Joe Williams in Ann Arbor — With Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf & Big Joe Williams in Ann Arbor, 1969

The teenage Jones drew accolades from Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee at Baldwin Wallace College, and is pictured with Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters in James Segrest’s definitive biography of Howlin’ Wolf. In 1970, Mr. Jones completed a thesis on a history of the blues, a recorded 4 hour lecture with musical examples, including two works in which he overdubbed himself playing numerous instruments. It was called “the best work of its kind” by Cleveland’s most prominent blues band leader Bill “Mr. Stress” Miller.

College

With his painting, Existential Realization, Cortlandt Manor, NY 1990's — With his painting, Existential Realization.

After a year at the University of Miami, Mark transferred to Kent State where he earned a BFA in painting, and also studied literature, poetry and other humanities, and began writing poetry in earnest, having attended workshops with Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan and Galway Kinnell. During this period, after hearing John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin and Cecil Taylor, he caught the jazz bug and began teaching himself how to play jazz piano, as well as Indian ragas and other world music styles. He and a few friends formed the Cleveland Art Ensemble which performed at his senior thesis art show. Mark also wrote some music reviews for a local publication. Another interest of his was cultivated at this time — Eastern philosophy and martial arts. He began studying Isshin-Ryu Okinawan karate with Sensei Ron Mohr, and then Chinese Shaolin kung-fu and chi-kung (qigong) with Ni Wei Chen while immersing himself in the great books on Taoism, Buddhism and other modalities of Eastern thought.

Youngstown and New York

Conceptual Art Show, Dowling College, Oakdale, NY

In the mid-seventies, Mr. Jones moved to Youngstown, Ohio where he studied jazz and classical piano with local legend Sidney Jireck, and music composition with Daniel Altsmann while managing a restaurant/nightclub. He also studied an Indonesian form of kung-fu called Poekoelan Tjimindie there with Mas Bill Dobich, a top disciple of the late Guru Willie Wetzel. Mark moved to New York in 1977 where he studied bebop piano with Walter Bishop Jr., and began showing his paintings in several Soho galleries, including a collaboration with the Constantina Petkova Dance Theater Group. One of his large paintings was used as a backdrop for performances by Sun Ra, Paul Bley and others at the M. Elson/Axis in Soho Gallery.

Cleveland Years

Solo piano concert and painting exhibition, Cleveland

For economic reasons, Mark moved back to Cleveland in 1978 to reluctantly take a sales position in his father’s non-ferrous scrap metal business, but continued to pursue his artistic endeavors. He studied classical piano with Lithuanian virtuoso Antanas Smetona and composed a number of his finest works in both jazz and classical idioms. He held a jazz workshop at his home in Lyndhurst, Ohio with his roommate Jeff Stewart and alto sax virtuoso Phil Capone in which many musicians came by to perform original works by Mr. Jones as well as by Ornette Coleman, Monk, and Charlie Parker. During this period, he completed the solo piano work “Pyerezhivally,” his Quartet for Oboe, Two Horns and Cello, and was commissioned by Case Western Reserve University to compose a prelude and fugue for woodwind quartet and men’s choir, which was performed in Cleveland. At this time, Pulitzer nominee Joseph Packales called Mr. Jones “a composer of world class stature.” Another project he recorded was a piece for 10 poets, in which he conducted poets to read their works in overlapping intervals with certain inflections according to his direction.

Jamming with Sonny Murray on drums and Jimmy Lyons (not pictured), with Cecil Taylor looking over his shoulder, Woodstock, NY 1980 — Jamming with Sonny Murray on drums and Jimmy Lyons (not pictured), with Cecil Taylor looking over his shoulder, Woodstock, NY

In 1980, Mr. Jones was accepted to study with Cecil Taylor and his group, who were in residence at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY. At the end of the workshop, he performed an extended composition of Mr. Taylor’s along with other students in front of a distinguished audience that included Carla Bley, Jack DeJohnette, Karl Berger, Steve Lacy as well as Taylor’s associates Sunny Murray, Jimmy Lyons, Alan Silva, Jerome Cooper, and Ramsay Ameen. The event was documented in the April, 1980 issue of Downbeat Magazine with a photo of Mr. Jones performing.

Advertisement for concert at Spaces, Cleveland, Ohio, 1981 — Advertisement for concert at Spaces, Cleveland, Ohio

On June 19th of that year, (his birthday), he gave a solo piano concert called “Inner Odyssey” at Spaces, a performing arts venue in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square. The concert featured his 24 ft. long painting of the same name as a backdrop and was recorded to be later released on CD. Following the concert, Mr. Jones was interviewed by WRUW radio, which also appeared nationally on NPR stations. Around this time period, Mr. Jones held a temporary professorship at the Cooper School of Art, a private art college in Cleveland where he taught drawing and art theory. He also had an essay on Norwegian Art published in Art in America, showed his paintings in Cleveland and New York, and continued to work extensively on his poetry.

Return to New York

MJ in recording studio, NYC 1993 — MJ in recording studio, NYC

In 1983, Mr. Jones moved back to New York, where he still resides, and once again studied briefly with Walter Bishop Jr., but the core focus was to study with renowned pianist and educator Sal Mosca, which Mr. Jones did for seven years, only missing lessons when traveling to Brazil, where he increasingly began spending more time beginning in 1986. The study with Sal was augmented by studies in conducting and classical piano at the Westchester Conservatory. He also studied psychotherapy in the graduate program at Columbia University, and language at NYU. While at Columbia, he interned at three venues under the auspices of Harlem Valley Psychiatric.

Solo performance at Roulette Theater, Brooklyn, March 27th 2013 — Solo performance at Roulette Theater, Brooklyn

Throughout this time, Mr. Jones also continued to show his art in New York City and teach art and music privately. He also presented a highly regarded conceptual art exhibit at Dowling College in Long Island. Mark formed his first version of Sound Sculpture, a musical trio with Matthew Petterson on bass and Kevin Hart on drums to perform his compositions. They gave a few concerts and eventually disbanded. Mark also performed regularly at Dudley’s in Ossining, NY with various bassists.

Botanical Gardens, Rio de Janeiro, 1988 — Botanical Gardens, Rio de Janeiro

In the 1980’s, Mark also collaborated with rock singer/songwriter Mark Dobson, and arranged and produced several recording sessions for him, on which Mr. Jones played numerous instruments. He also wrote and recorded music for the Off-Broadway production of “The City that Cried Wolf,” as well as music for a fellow artist’s websites. Around this time, his interest in writing grew, and began having essays on wide-reaching subject matter published in the New York Times, Village Voice, Newsweek, Mojo, Dirty Linen, Downbeat, New York Jewish Week, the Cleveland Jewish News, Black Belt, Inside Kung Fu, Tai-Chi, and others.

1990’s

In the early 90’s, Mark formed a second version of Sound Sculpture with Jay Mazarella on bass and John Doty on drums. They gave several performances, and recorded 3 tunes with violin virtuoso Rob Thomas and percussionist Steve Samuels along with a long solo piano improvisation that was released on CD. In the mid 90’s, Mr. Jones began immersing himself in the study of the Chinese Internal martial arts including tai-chi chuan, baguazhang, hsing-yi chuan, and chi-kung (qigong) with Richard Satlow and Richard’s teacher, the venerable B.P. Chan, from who he also learned a good deal of philosophy and ethics, as well as martial arts.

Conducting a kung fu workshop in Cleveland

Mr. Jones also began work on a long-term project, a philosophy book that engenders the facets of life he feels of paramount importance to living a happy and healthy life — diet, exercise, mental and spiritual outlook, an appreciation and understanding of the Arts, human interaction, and how to think for oneself in a society controlled by money and conformity. Many other essays on topics as eclectic as sports, religion, health, philosophy, visual art, music, politics, social issues, martial arts, economics, and comedy as well as poetry were also generated.

Beginning in 1984, Jones supported himself by starting a wooden playground business that manufactured and installed his designs throughout the country. By the mid ’90’s he started a home inspection and environmental testing business to pay the bills that continued for over 30 years until he could finally become financially independent. All of these non-artistic businesses were started so as to never compromise the integrity of his art, which he held to be a sacred expression of his being. Beginning in 1975, Jones made a vow to steadfastly refuse to “sell out” his art for any commercial gains, and has kept that vow ever since, thus his art has remained pure and creatively original in the tradition of the great artists he admires.

21st Century

The new millennium had Mark Jones continuing work on that aforementioned philosophy book, but also a book explaining the principles of body mechanics, a songbook of musical compositions for improvisation which spans his lifetime, the collected works of his poetry, entitled “The Cry of the Lonely, the Song of the Poet,” a two volume set of essays, more musical recordings and beginning several new series of artworks.

Reading by the stream in his front yard.”

He also recorded the first three of a planned fifty-odd tunes of bossa nova music in his “BossAmerioca” project, and assembled a third incarnation of Sound Sculpture with Rob Thomas, Ken Filiano, Jay Rosen and Joe Cruz that performed at the Iridium jazz club on Broadway and was both recorded and filmed for CD and DVD formats. After the Iridium concert, Jones performed a solo piano work at Brooklyn’s Roulette Theater that also was filmed. In addition to performing, several of Mark’s compositions were performed by the Arturo O’Farrill Latin Jazz Orchestra at Birdland and a Carnegie Hall sponsored event at YIVO.

Marquee of MJ's performance at Iridium on Broadway, 2009 — Marquee of MJ’s performance at Iridium on Broadway

Jones has continued to work on his paintings and photography in anticipation of future exhibits. His involvement in the martial arts has continued to grow and after Mr. Chan’s death, he continued to study with other long time senior students of Chan’s as well as attend workshops with a number of well-known “masters” such as Fong Ha, Alex Dong and Mantak Chia. Mark has also taught kung fu for many years giving workshops in Rio de Janeiro, Bangkok, Cuba and a large one in Solon, Ohio that was video-taped and was attended by many highly regarded teachers who had their own schools including his own first karate teacher from 1971.

Teaching a kung fu workshop, Solon, Ohio

In 2025, Jones was a panelist at the Tai Chi – Qigong Festival in Warwick, NY since he contributed significantly to Ron Lambert’s important book, “Celebrating the Life of BP Chan.” In 2017, Mr. Jones purchased a large, secluded contemporary house on nine forested acres in Putnam Valley, NY that boasts a 1/8th mile long driveway that traverses a creek, with a mountain behind the house that leads to the Appalachian Trail where he continues to work on his creative endeavors as well as jog, hike and workout in the fresh country air.