MARK RAPP is a Trumpeter, composer, arranger, didgeridoo player, recording and touring artist. He has performed with such distinct artists from Delfeayo & Branford Marsalis to country star Darius Rucker.
Rapp has released 8 diverse recordings and appears as a sideman on a myriad of projects including Disney’s "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" alongside Roy Hargrove, Dave Brubeck, Esperanza Spalding, The Bad Plus, Joshua Redman, and more. Rapp’s celebrated 2009 debut release "Token Tales" earned him a spot as a "Top Emerging Trumpeter" in Downbeat Magazine. His release “Good Eats” had critics saying, “Rapp is quickly developing a reputation as a superb interpreter and great stylist.”- AllAboutJazz.com.
Rapp is a featured artist in Mellen Press' "How Jazz Trumpeters Understand Their Music" among a prestigious list including Terence Blanchard, Lew Soloff, Freddie Hubbard, Tim Hagans, Dave Douglas, and more. Rapp also composed and produced a jazz ballet “Woven: Life in Notes and Steps” (wovenballet.com). He has performed in jazz clubs and festivals around the world from Croatia, Brasil, Austria, Switzerland, USA and more including back-to-back appearances at the 2017 & 2018 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
As the founder of ColaJazz.com, a jazz initiative to grow, elevate and support the jazz community in and around Columbia, SC through events, education, recordings, and advocacy, Rapp has produced and released 2 compilation CDs featuring over 20 local bandleaders involving 30+ musicians. Rapp created and launched the USC ColaJazz Camp in 2017 featuring Delfeayo Marsalis; the 2018 camp clinician was NEA JazzMaster Dave Liebman. He also produced the 2018 ColaJazz Festival featuring Chris Potter.
Rapp is a prominent figurehead, performer, and activist of jazz in SC and in February 2018 was named an Ambassador of Jazz for the State of South Carolina by the SC House of Representatives.