A Houston native, Mark Simmons began his drumming career at the young age of 5 at Greater Emmanuel Church of God in Christ (Houston, TX) under the leadership of Pastor Benny and First Lady Earlene Allen. It was here where he began cultivating his God-given talent as a musician under the direction of Myra Banks and Carole Allen Simmons.
While in school, Mark excelled musically at Parker Elementary School and Johnston Middle School under the band leadership of Craig Green. He would further hone his talents at the High School for Performing and Visual Arts under the direction of Bob Morgan. After high school, he attended Berklee College of Music on a full tuition scholarship in Boston, MA.
It didn’t take long for Mark’s talent to be discovered by a few famed musicians. Within his sophomore year at Berklee, GRP Records scouted his band, The Teodross Avery Band featuring Roy Hargrove, for a record deal. After recording their debut album, In Other Words, mixed and mastered by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder, even more opportunities began to unfold for Mark.
For the next eight years, Mark played for the likes of jazz icon Sunny Rollins, Billy Paul, Bobby Womack, Najee, Walter Beasley, Bryan McKnight, Kirk Whalum, Marcus Miller and Wayman Tisdale to name a few. He would eventually tour the world with jazz legends George Duke, Dianne Reaves and eight-time Grammy Award winning legend Al Jarreau over the next decade of his career.
Currently, Mark plays for ten-time Grammy Award winning icon George Benson. When he is not touring abroad, he enjoys composing and producing music for various artists. For the past four decades, Mark has been blessed to share his musical talents with the world and move to the beat of his own drum.
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