Mark Morganelli playong trumpet and wearing yellow shirt

About Mark Morganelli

Mark Morganelli is a renowned jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist, promoter, educator, and the founder and Executive Director of Jazz Forum Arts, a non-for-profit based in Tarrytown, NY.

Born in Chincoteague, VA, Morganelli began playing trumpet at age 9 and graduated from Bucknell University with a degree in Music Education. While at Bucknell, he led the Jazz and Rock Ensemble to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1976.

Mark launched his first Jazz Forum loft in Manhattan in 1979, hosting legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, and Carmen McRae. In 1985, he established Jazz Forum Arts, producing major festivals and concerts at venues including Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, NJPAC, and Tarrytown Music Hall.

Morganelli has produced over 60 recordings for Candid Records, served as music coordinator at NYC’s Birdland, and organized landmark events such as Dizzy Gillespie’s 75th Birthday concert at Carnegie Hall. As a performer, he has appeared at the Montreux, JVC/NY, and Saratoga Jazz Festivals, toured internationally, and recorded six albums, including Brasil! and For Miles, a tribute to Miles Davis.

In 2017, Mark and his wife Ellen Prior reopened the Jazz Forum club in Tarrytown, now a premier venue for jazz in Westchester County. Celebrating over 40 years of Jazz Forum Arts, Morganelli continues to champion jazz through concerts, education, and community engagement.

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Biography

Trumpeter | Producer | Educator| Jazz Advocate

Early Life

Morganelli was born on May 15, 1955, in Chincoteague, VA. He is a 1977 graduate of Bucknell University, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. Morganelli led the Bucknell Jazz and Rock Ensemble, bringing the group to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1976. Morganelli began playing the trumpet at age 9 and studied with Bennett Lentczner, Juilliard Graduate.

Professional Career

Promoter

1979 | Created the Jazz Forum at 50 Cooper Square, New York City at age 24. By the time the second Jazz Forum, 648 Broadway, closed in 1983, Morganelli had presented 1,500 events featuring Clifford Jordan, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Woody Shaw, Dewey Redman, Louis Hayes, Max Roach, and many others.

1985–1997 | Founded Jazz Forum Arts and created the Riverside Parks Arts Festival in New York City, presenting 13 years of free summer concerts that served diverse NYC communities. Many concerts were broadcast on NPR and released as CDs. Artists included Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, Tiny Grimes, Charles Earland, Ballet Hispanico, and the Mel Lewis Orchestra.

1992–2013 | Presented more than 150 jazz concerts in Tarrytown, NY at the Tarrytown Music Hall featuring Ahmad Jamal, James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Betty Carter, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera, Bobby McFerrin, The Manhattan Transfer, Fourplay, Spyro Gyra, and Pat Metheny.

1996–2015 | Presented jazz concerts in NYC at Town Hall, Beacon Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Symphony Space featuring Tito Puente, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Abbey Lincoln, Milton Nascimento, Hank Jones, David Sanborn, Savion Glover, George Duke, and David Amram.

1996–2010 | Created and produced festivals including Sunnyside Jazz Festival (Irvington, NY), Kensico Dam Music Fest (Valhalla, NY), Jazz at the Paramount (Peekskill, NY), Jazz at SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center, Berkshire Jazz Festival, Hudson River Music Fest, NJPAC, and Jazz at the Palace Theater (Stamford, CT). Featured artists included Lionel Hampton, Sonny Rollins, Diana Krall, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Mose Allison, Randy Weston, Cassandra Wilson, Al Jarreau, Sergio Mendes, Chuck Mangione, Gato Barbieri, and Grover Washington Jr.

1988–1993 | Music Coordinator, Birdland (NYC), featuring Clark Terry, Mundell Lowe, Kenny Barron, Joe Morello, Jaki Byard, Milt Hinton, Jimmy Heath.

2012–2015 | Presented free concerts at John Jay College, NYC.

2017–Current | Established the Jazz Forum jazz club in Tarrytown, NY, presenting live music three days a week. Featured musicians include Roy Hargrove, Kenny Barron, Eliane Elias, Eddie Palmieri, Lee Konitz, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Ravi Coltrane, Bill Charlap, Renee Rosnes, Monty Alexander, Donald Harrison Jr., Catherine Russell, Sonny Fortune, Samara Joy, David Sanborn, Wynton Marsalis, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Musician

As a trumpeter/flugelhornist, Morganelli has recorded six albums, most recently For Miles (2023, Italy) and Brasil! (2019). He has performed at Montreux, JVC/NY, Syracuse, and Saratoga Jazz Festivals, toured Italy for 30 years, and played with Dizzy Gillespie, Paquito D’Rivera, James Moody, Mario Bauza, Houston Person, John Hicks, Harold Land, Billy Hart, Ben Riley, Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, and Louis Hayes.

Record Producer

Morganelli has produced more than 60 CDs featuring Kenny Barron, Donald Harrison, Dr. John, Paquito D’Rivera, James Moody, Claudio Roditi, Ricky Ford, Lee Konitz, Barry Harris, Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, Joanne Brackeen, Pat Martino, and Al Foster.

Educator

Through Jazz Forum Arts, Morganelli has provided free jazz education to hundreds of young people from diverse backgrounds. Programs include:

Jitterbugs: For children ages 18 months to 5 years.
Jazz Forum Student Ensemble: For students in grades 5–12.
Free monthly jam sessions for students and professionals.
Free tickets for student musicians to attend concerts at Jazz Forum Club.

Jazz Forum Arts presents over 30 free annual summer concerts in Westchester County, NY, attended by thousands. During COVID, the organization presented 100 free live streams from artists’ homes via Facebook.

Jazz Forum Arts – Not-for-Profit

Established in 1985 to present top-quality arts events at little or no cost, enhancing appreciation of jazz, America’s pre-eminent indigenous musical art form. Founding Board Members included Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Dorthaan Kirk, Dan Morgenstern, Gary Giddins, Bruce Lundvall, and David Amram. In 2017, Jazz Forum Arts created a jazz club in Tarrytown featuring live music, rotating art exhibits, and education programs. Jazz Forum Arts has received grants from the NEA, NYSCA, ArtsWestchester, and numerous sponsors. Jazz Forum has been named by DownBeat Magazine as one of the top jazz venues in the world.

Personal Life

Morganelli has been married for 40 years to Ellen Prior, Associate Director of Jazz Forum Arts. They have two children and a granddaughter.