Andy Sheppard
About
Paiste Artist Since
June 2016
Nationality
United Kingdom
Main Affiliations
Andy Sheppard
Michelson Morley
We Are Leif
Website
www.markwhitlam.com
Setup
Cymbals listed from left to right
15" Masters Dark Hi-Hat
19" Masters Dark Crash
22" Masters Dark Ride
20" Masters Dark Crash Ride
Videos & Pics
Biography
Versatility, creative flair and great feel have established Mark as one of the first-call players in the South West. Putting the needs of the music first is at the centre of his approach, Mark is a passionate, authoritative and authentic performer. Mark has performed live and/or recorded with some of the UK’s finest jazz musicians, including ECM artists Andy Sheppard and Iain Ballamy, Clare Teal, Jason Rebello (Sting, Jeff Beck), Claire Martin, Pee Wee Ellis (James Brown), Jim Mullen (Average White Band), Mike Outram, Tina May, Gareth Williams, Josh Arcoleo and cross-genre artists such as Goldfrapp's Will Gregory, Portishead's Adrian Utley and BBC Proms conductor Charles Hazlewood. Recent work includes being called on to play for Liane Carroll's The Right To Love album launch (covering the drum chair for Ralph Salmins) with Grammy nominated producer James McMillan and Mercury Prize nominee in 2017 and this summer, a headlining festival show with Radio 2 folk award winner, Eliza Carthy and the Wayward Band. With a command of a wide range of styles and excellent reading skills, Mark has gained extensive musical theatre experience, having performed in the West End, Edinburgh Fringe, UK tours and was invited to deputise on the drum chair for the world tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. Live performances have taken him from Glastonbury Festival to The Royal Albert Hall, and across to Europe. His recorded work has received airplay on BBC Radio 3 (Jazz on 3, Late Junction and Jazz Requests), BBC Radio 2 (Jamie Cullum), BBC 6 Music (Introducing...) and Jazz FM, having also recorded live broadcasts for Jez Nelson's Jazz on 3 show from Manchester Jazz Festival and The Vortex in London. In addition, session work for publishers Boosey & Hawkes has been used for television broadcast. A committed music educator, Mark enjoys teaching on the undergraduate degree programme at BIMM Bristol, where he is deputy head of the drum faculty. He has been invited to tutor on several summer school courses, including RhythmFest (run by Rhythm magazine) alongside Craig Blundell, Colin Woolway and BIMM colleague, James Hester. In 2011 he was approached by Jam Track Central to compose music and record video for play-along tuition downloads. A self-confessed transcription nerd, Mark has recently been engaged to transcribe the drum and percussion parts for Paul Simon's latest album Stranger to Stranger, published worldwide through Music Sales Ltd.
Setup Cymbals
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Details
Sizes: 20", 22"
Volume: Soft
Weight: Light
Sound character: Dark, warm, smoky, breathy. Fairly wide range, complex mix. Soft feel with a quick response. Very well crashable. Controllable, peppery stick sound over a dark layered oriental, smoky wash. A ride cymbal that can easily be used in a small jazz club setting and flourish in other styles such as blues or country music.
- Sounds
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Details
Sizes: 20", 22"
Volume: Soft
Weight: Light
Sound character: Dark, trashy, papery, low. Wide range, complex and moody mix. Soft and buttery feel with a very wobbly and vibrant response. Fairly defined stick sound over a dark and cloudy wash. Perfectly suited for quieter musical settings such as blues, jazz and acoustic styles. Very user-friendly for percussive use and classical mallet application.
- Sounds
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Details
Sizes: 16", 17", 18", 19", 20"
Volume: Medium
Weight: Light
Sound character: Dark, warm, smoky. Medium wide range, complex mix. Buttery, soft feel with quick response. Rich, dark, mystical crash sound with tender clarity. Extremely lively cymbal for broad accents and crashes in intimate to semi-loud settings. Well suited for delicate ride patterns or mallet swells. «For those guys who really appreciate just having a cymbal that can do everything, the larger Dark Crashes can do anything. Very crash-able, and if you want to ride on them, they will give you all the ride patterns in the world.» - Gregory Hutchinson
- Sounds
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Details
Sizes: 14", 15"
Volume: Soft
Weight: Medium
Sound character: Dark, full, soft, multi-layered. Medium wide range, complex mix. Soft, responsive feel. Velvety sizzling open sound. Rich, dark chick sound. A sensitive hi-hat perfectly suited for light to medium heavy use within Jazz, Blues, Country and other acoustic music styles.
- Sounds
