Mark Douthit

Nov 07, 2006
1
Feb 26, 2002

Mark Douthit is listed in the credits for the following albums:

Year Artist Album Role
1983 Imperials Side by Side Sax
1984 Pam Mark Hall Supply and Demand Saxophone
1985 Kenny Marks Attitude Saxophone Solo
1985 David Meece 7 Saxophone
1985 Carman The Champion Sax
1986 Dion DiMucci Velvet & Steel Sax, Sax Solo
1987 Michael Peace RRRock It Right Saxophone
1987 Prism Yellow Saxophone
1987 Kenny Marks Make It Right Saxophones
1987 Imperials This Year's Model Saxophone, Horns
1987 BeBe and CeCe Winans BeBe and CeCe Winans Saxophone
1987 Paul Smith No Frills Sax
1987 Russ Taff Russ Taff Sax
1987 First Call Somethin' Takes Over Soprano & Alto Sax
1988 Mark Baldwin The Calling Additional Keyboards
1988 Bruce Carroll Richest Man In Town EWI
1988 Buddy Greene Slice Of Life Ewi
1988 Ruscha Come Alive Saxophone
1989 Priscilla Engle Ageless Love Saxophone
1989 Greg X. Volz No Room in the Middle Saxophone
1989 Russ Taff The Way Home Saxophone
1989 Rick Cua Midnight Sun Saxophone
1990 Scott Wesley Brown Living in the Comfort Zone Sax
1990 Donna McElroy Bigger World Saxophone Solo
1990 Eric Champion Eric Champion Saxophone
1991 Priscilla Engle Learning To Love Saxophone
1991 Charlie Peacock Love Life Saxophone
1991 Eric Champion Revolution Time Saxophone
1991 Carman Shakin' the House...Live! Saxophone
1991 Margaret Becker Simple House Sax
1991 Billy Crockett Any Starlight Night Soprano Saxophone
1991 Amy Grant Heart in Motion Saxophone
1992 Billy Sprague Torn Between Two Worlds Saxophone
1992 Buddy Greene Buddy Greene and Friends Live! Soprano Saxophone
1992 dc Talk Free at Last Horns
1992 Rick Cua The Way Love Is Sax
1992 Steven Curtis Chapman The Great Adventure Soprano Saxophone
1992 Carman Revival in the Land Saxophone
1992 Lisa Bevill My Freedom Sax
1992 Russ Taff A Christmas Song Sax
1993 Pam Thum Pam Thum Sax
1993 NewSong All Around the World Sax Solos
1993 Carman The Standard Horns
1993 4Him The Season of Love - Christmas Saxophone
1993 Bob Carlisle Bob Carlisle Saxophone
1994 Sierra Sierra Saxophones
1994 Maia Amada Faith Remains Saxophone
1994 Randy Stonehill Lazarus Heart Soprano Saxophone
1994 Kathy Troccoli Kathy Troccoli Saxophone
1994 Eric Champion Vertical Reality Sax
1994 4Him The Ride Saxophone
1994 Amy Grant House of Love Horns
1994 David Mullen David Mullen Horns, Flute
1994 Patsy Moore The Flower Child's Guide to Love and Fashion EWI
1994 Kim Boyce By Faith Saxophone
1994 Bob Carlisle The Hope Of A Man Tenor & Baritone Sax
1995 Tammy Trent Tammy Trent Saxophones, EWI
1995 Greg Long Days Of Grace Saxophone
1995 Scott Wesley Brown Misson of Praise EWI, Flute, Saxophone
1995 East to West North of the Sky Horns
1996 Charlie Peacock Strange Language Flute
1996 Aaron Jeoffrey After The Rain Saxophone, Akai EWI
1997 John Elefante Corridors Sax
1997 Zilch Platinum Saxaphone
1999 Pete Stewart Pete Stewart Saxophone
2000 Bob Carlisle Nothing But The Truth Saxophones
2001 NewSong The Christmas Shoes Saxophone
2001 Jody Davis Jody Davis Saxophones
2001 Cindy Morgan Elementary Sax, Flute
2002 Mark Douthit Groove Producer, Songwriter, Saxaphones, Synth, EWI, Rhythm Arrangement
2005 Anointed Now Is The Time Saxophone
2006 Chris Kent Smooth Worship Sax
2011 Echoing Angels Echoing Angels Saxophones

Mark Douthit

Born: 
Feb 12, 1960
Age: 
64

Mark Douthit could very well be the most famous musician that people have never heard of. But the smooth jazz saxophonist, by his own estimation, has played alto, tenor, soprano or baritone sax on upwards of 4,000 albums by some of the top names in pop, R&B and jazz, including Whitney Houston, The Neville Brothers, Elton John, Patti LaBelle, Natalie Cole, The Temptations, Michael McDonald, Billy Preston, Take 6, Donna Summer, Don Henley, Vanessa Williams, Billy Joel, Kirk Whalum, Larry Carlton and dozens more.

Douthit, a Nashville music scene essential when it comes to laying down sax tracks, has found his own Groove as Hillsboro Jazz's first smooth jazz artist. A collection of remakes and originals, Groove reflects Douthit's diversity and inspirations, such as David Sanborn, Michael Brecker, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Cannonball Adderley, while maintaining a cohesive vibe that keeps the album a smooth pleasure. "I try to be very emotional in my playing," explains Douthit, who began his musical quest as a nine-year-old classical pianist, placing second in a statewide competition while still in high school. "The bottom line on this record is: Everything grooves. That's the glue for this project. The diversity is that I cover a lot of different directions, from Earth, Wind & Fire's Can't Hide Love, all the way to one of my originals, Voice of the Heart, which I think is much more organic and anthemic. I wrote that song, which is the first single, after I watched the first news coverage of the bombing of Desert Storm.”

"I didn't pick the remakes on Groove because of the types of musical genres; I picked them because they were incredibly well-written and well-performed," Douthit reveals, "and I wanted an opportunity to do a version of those songs, because they're some of my all-time favorites." Groove also signifies Douthit's premiere as a full-fledged producer, though he's no stranger to the soundboard and other production responsibilities, having helmed segments of compilations in the past. One such producer / performer credit earned Douthit a 1997 Dove Award for The Players in the "Instrumental Record of the Year" category. That same album won a Nammy, the Nashville equivalent to a Grammy.

For Groove, Douthit called all the shots, starting with the line-up of musicians, stating, "They're all first-call session players here in Nashville and are also longstanding friends of mine. To work with them was just like hanging out with all my friends, and doing what it is that we do best making good music."

And similar to Douthit himself, he points out, "They play on an awful lot of records that come out of Nashville.

"I had two different rhythm sections on Groove," Douthit continues. "I mixed and matched to find the best that were suited for each song." Former college roommates and wedding party members these are the bonds that make Groove that much deeper, as each of the very in-demand musicians involved rallied to make some exceptional music with Douthit."

There's a history among all of the players on the album, and hopefully that is something that will really set it apart. It's not assembly line music; there's a lot of heart there, because of the deep friendships involved," Douthit reveals. "There's this really infectious groove that's underlying on all the songs. The musicians on the album tie all of the diversity of the songs together."

While instilling Groove with his distinctive note-for-note identity, Douthit found that making his own record, in contrast to showing up for so many countless others, offered some unique challenges, especially when wearing the producer hat.

"I had to maintain control of a lot of different things simultaneously, instead of just making the music as the artist. I had to really see the whole picture, as it was being recorded. What differentiates this record from all of the other recording experiences that I've had, is that I got to hand-pick the songs and the players, and stylistically be totally honest in my performance."

Groove took only a week to record and an additional four days to mix, which is a testament to Douthit's decisive vision, unwavering focus and production and coordination skills, as well as to the professionalism of the participating musicians.

Douthit notes, "The players are so skilled and their intuition is so dead on. That's the beauty of playing with great musicians and great friends you have to talk about so little. Everybody just knows what the end result should be."

As one might predict of such a prolific musician, Douthit has been a devoted student of jazz and the saxophone, absorbing the theory, practice and art as a student at Middle Tennessee State and the Cincinnati Conservatory, before polishing his chops at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, under the aegis of legendary jazz educator Jerry Coker.

And along the way, he met his unique musical voice and found his Groove.

Created by: siremidor on 26-July-2010 - Last Edited by siremidor on 26-December-2019
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