I lost my friend today.

Mark Colby and I have been making noise on the bandstand since he moved to Chicago from “the road” around 1982. Our relationship was to become an important part of my life.

Mark had been touring with Bob James’ groups, but he first came on the national scene with Maynard Ferguson in the 70’s. The tune “Primal Scream” showcased his capabilities in the Jazz Rock idiom and featured the driving, intensely soulful sound that he could conjure and was known for in that period. 

The first time I heard Mark play was at the Bob James “All Around the Town” concerts at Carnegie Hall in NYC in 1980. Mark was featured among many of the top players of the day including Tom Scott, Idris Muhammad, Tom Brown, Earl Klugh and others in the Tappan Zee Records roster. Mark had also released his own albums featuring top NYC session musicians on Tappan Zee and Columbia Records. I was living in NYC at the time, but little did I know our lives would converge back in Chicago soon thereafter.

In 1981 I said goodbye to New York, returned home to Chicago, and started a music contracting business with a couple of partners. At that time we shared our near-north side office with a jingle producer. One day a fellow who I didn’t recognize came into the office, LPs under his arm, and that’s when I first met Mark, as he pounded the pavement promoting himself as a session musician. I could relate as I had spent the previous year doing the same in the Big Apple. 

Soon after that I found myself in a band with Mark, and other great musicians Howard Levy, Ernie Denov and Joel Spencer. “Fusebox” was Mark’s introduction to Chicago jazz fans and we played a number of gigs at Orphans, a popular Lincoln Ave club of the day.

Over the years that followed Mark and I worked together on various sessions and corporate gigs and we played some jazz, too. Mark put his Quartet together around 2000 featuring old friend Frank Caruso or Jim Trompeter on piano, Bob Rummage on drums and myself on bass. Jeremy Kahn took over the piano chair around 2007. We had been playing monthly at the Jazz Showcase since 2009 and also appeared at festivals and clinics.

I’m so happy that I was able to contribute to a number of Mark’s CD projects over the years, as they were all highly artistic renderings that showcased his beautiful sound, ideas, and musicianship. He was a deep and spiritual player who used his solos to tell a very personal story. “Speaking of Stan” is a marvelous, large production tribute album, and “All or Nothing at All”, the last release under his own name, presents the Quartet at its best, I think.

For the past eight years, Mark has been a featured player with my group, The Eric Hochberg Trio, at our steady gig at Catch 35 Chicago. Mark graced our stage at least once a week and always brought something special to the bandstand. Sadly, March 7, 2020 was the last night of our run, but I am so happy to have shared it with Mark and our featured pianist, Steve Million. The next day I received the news that Catch 35 would be shutting down due to the Covid pandemic that has turned our music business lives upside-down.

Aside from all the wonderful musical times we’ve had together, hanging with Mark off the bandstand was always a fun and enjoyable time. He had a sense of humor second to none and was always positive in his outlook and vibe. He was a serious musician who really knew how to mix it up on a personal basis, and that combination made him the well-loved man that he was. And, as a family man, also second to none with his great love and attention to his wife, Mary, and their children and grandchildren.

Rest easy, my friend. You did it all with style and grace, sincerity and humor, and you’ll always be in my heart.

Namaste.