A Cool Yule with Mark G. Meadows & The Movement

This program is brought to BlackRock Center for the Arts in part by the generous support from Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Jazz Touring Network.

Acclaimed jazz composer, pianist, music director, vocalist, jazz instructor, & actor, Mark G. Meadows is a man on a mission: to create a unifying sound that breaks through social barriers. There’s something for everyone in his music, which harmonizes pop, gospel, R&B, hip hop, funk, and jazz. With his lyrics, suffused with meaning, and his velvet voice, Meadows cuts through the noise to speak to all. You can hear his genius in his 4 self-produced albums, Be the Change (2019), To the People (2016), Somethin’ Good (2014), and A Child is Born (2008). Debonair on the stage, he is an entertainer of the highest caliber.

In August 2016, Meadows made his acting debut as the titular role in the Washington, D.C., premiere of the hit Broadway musical Jelly’s Last Jam at the Signature Theatre. Since then, he's been immersed in the theatre scene, successfully combining the raw, spontaneous nature of jazz with the story-telling, heavily produced nature of theatre.

After graduating from the famed Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Meadows went on to earn two bachelor’s degrees in psychology and jazz piano from Johns Hopkins University. Afterwards, he decided to focus on music for the first time, and went on to earn a Graduate Performance Diploma in jazz piano from the prestigious Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

Increasingly in demand around the globe, Meadows has performed alongside world-renowned artists, including Usher, Cynthia Erivo, Renee Fleming, Kendrick Lamar, Kamasi Washington, Angelique Kidjo, Bobby McFerrin, The NSO, Ledisi, Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Kurt Elling, Sean Jones, and Warren Wolf. He has headlined at premier venues, including Jazz at Lincoln Center and Smalls Jazz Club in NYC, Blues Alley, Bohemian Caverns, The Warner Theatre and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; and the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD.

In 2018-2019, he performed, acted, and music directed Signature Theatre’s “Soul Divas” Cabaret, “Motown Christmas” Cabaret, “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, “Unforgettable, a Tribute to Nat King Cole” Cabaret, “HittsvileUSA - Motown” Cabaret, “Motown 2: The Reprise” Cabaret, and Creative Cauldron’s “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill”.  When his demanding schedule allows, Mark continues to tour with his group, Mark G. Meadows & The Movement.