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Mark Tuinstra

Versatile Amsterdam based guitarist playing with a bite between jazz/world/improv

About Me

Versatile and self-taught guitarist Mark Tuinstra, grew up in a musical environment - his father was a drummer and his mother played the piano and guitar. At the age of five he took classical lessons on piano and after a few years he started drumming on an old kit of his father. Soon after the drums the bass guitar followed and at the age of 14 he started to play guitar in several local pop/rock bands. he studied artschool and graduated in journalism but the music grew too big and he turned professional musician 20 years ago .

His focus is wide, he loves jazz and free improv but also African and Indian music, and pop. This shows that Mark loves to play with others, only to PLAY; not restricted to any musical boundaries or conventions. This made him tour all over Europe, Brazil, Guatemala, Turkey, Japan, Senegal, Egypt, Jordan, Beirut, Japan, South-Africa etc. In The Netherlands he played on festivals like Lowlands and the Musicmeeting and in numerous jazzvenues like the BIMhuis in Amsterdam.

Mark currently plays in the Nordanians, in an 8 piece Mbalax-band with Senegalese singer Omar Ka and classic/electric/calypsoband dr. Jordan Institute and Trio Atomico. Besides that he is one of the organizers of the Keppler Sessions in Amsterdam (which he co-hosts with bassplayer tony overwater), he regularly composes music for Dutch television and he is a teacher at De Popschool in Amsterdam.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it's organic like life itself, contantly evolving, feeding curiousity I was first exposed to jazz when I was 13 My advice to new listeners: listen good and be curious The biggest risk in life in not taking one..