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Mark Werlin
I enjoy writing about new music and classic reissues with a focus on the artists, producers, engineers and labels who are committed to hi-res SACDs and audio downloads.
About Me
I'm a lifelong music lover and the child of classical musicians. Early flute studies
led to playing alto sax in informal jazz rehearsals, and writing songs and
performing in a New Wave rock band. My professional background includes co-
authoring five published novels, writing research and shooting photos for articles
and interviews published in the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger and other Swiss
news outlets, and researching and writing an investigative article published in
German by the Tages-Anzeiger and in English by the Boulder (Colorado) Weekly.
Currently, I'm a video producer-editor and online communications manager and
consultant for nonprofit organizations in Northern California; the site jazz
reviewer for HRAudio.net; an enthusiast for 1960s Blue Note recordings and
contemporary European jazz; a participant in Swiss direct democracy; a
supporter of independent journalism; and an obsessive reader of Raymond
Chandler and Georges Simenon novels in the company of single-malt Scotch and
Calvados, respectively.
Credo: Hi-res audio can be a vehicle for engaged, affecting, transformative
listening experiences. What musicians play at the recording date is inextricably
interwoven with personal and social history, language and culture.
My Jazz Story
The first jazz performance I attended was a concert by Miles Davis at Royce Hall, UCLA, in late 1970 (the Jarrett, Bartz, Henderson and Airto electric group). Traumatizing and unforgettable. Five years later, I had the privilege of sitting in the Keystone Korner in San Francisco, hearing Charles Mingus play "Fables of Faubus". A tragedy that one of America's greatest musicians received such belated recognition for his work and was granted such a short time in this life.