mr-marc-mommaas-biography

Mr. Marc Mommaas; Project Leader, Teacher, and Performer Mr. Marc Mommaas is currently Co-director of the New York Jazz Workshop and the Hudson Jazzworks Program.

Mr. Mommaas has had an impressive career as a jazz saxophonist and improviser, and as an educator. He made his debut as a bandleader in his 1999 recording Global Motion Trio (Calibre Records) with Nikolaj Hess from Copenhagen (piano), and alternating bass players John Hebert from New Orleans and Jay Anderson from New York City. In 2001, the acclaimed drummer Tony Moreno joined the group, which became Global Motion. In 2003 the band recorded Global Motion (Sunnyside Records). This release earned critical acclaim and was followed by another well-received release in 2006 titled Balance (Sunnyside Records).

Mr. Mommaas is also a composer of innovative works. In 2010, he embarked on a new guitar project that featured a band with three guitarists, sax, and drums, but without bass function – a testament to the depth in Mommaas’ rhythmic language. The Jazz Project became Landmarc (Sunnyside Records). Mommaas’ highly personal and innovative solo saxophone project Irreversible Momentum, which was four years in the making, was released in fall 2013.

Mr. Mommaas has toured the world with many formations including the Amina Figarova sextet; and formations lead by Tony Moreno, Tim Horner, and Armen Donelian. He has played all the main stages, from the Newport Jazz Festival to Carnegie Hall.

As an educator, Mr. Mommaas co-founded the New York Jazz Workshop with Marco Chelo and Hudson Jazz Works with Armen Donelian. These workshops attract students from all over the world. Mr. Mommaas is a faculty member at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music; and has taught at the Manhattan School of Music, New York University, William Paterson University, the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Denmark, and the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Mr. Mommaas has given master classes in conservatoria across the globe.

Mr. Mommaas holds a Masters in Communication Science and Business from the University of Amsterdam and a Masters in Jazz Performance cum laude from the Manhattan School of Music (full scholarship) where he was awarded the William H. Borden Award for outstanding achievement. In 1997, Mr. Mommaas was awarded two Dutch grants (Stichting Podium Kunsten, Prins Bernard Fonds/Anjer Fondsen); he also participated in the Lake Placid Seminar (1997) and the Aspen Snowmass Jazz Sessions (2001) for which he received full scholarships.

Mommaas’ goal in his art form has always been to create boundless freedom of expression, not restricted by any technical or intellectual limitations. Balancing harmonic depth, a natural talent for melody, and an endless pallet of rhythmic colors, he has created his own sound both as a performer and composer. As an artist, Mr. Mommaas feels the importance of connecting with his environment by presenting a musical language that is in balance with the time we live in.

Mr. Mommaas lives in New York where he is currently working on a textbook focusing on a rhythmic approach to improvisation and composition for linear instruments.