Photo: Mark Diamond (from his Facebook page) Mark Diamond on Facebook, 2/01/22: Hey everybody, if you find yourself with a few extra minutes, I hope you’ll enjoy reading this interview from Shout Out Colorado. I appreciate them asking me, and there’s some other fun stuff to see on their site as well.
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Shout Out Colorado: Meet Mark Diamond – Bassist, band leader, studio musician and gig farmer!
We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark Diamond and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Mark, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
As musicians, we often feel that people take what we do for granted, playing in clubs with TVs on, folks talking away while we’re performing, regularly being asked, “so what do you really do for a living?”, and the like. That said, I always knew that music had a real purpose in the world, and there is a particular moment when this became extremely apparent to me in a very tangible way.
It was THAT DAY, September 11, 2001, my jazz trio was hired to play for an international, corporate event at The Denver Aquarium, and we were booked nearly a year in advance. So, the tragedy had occurred that morning, the world was turned upside down and everyone was in panic mode! The first of numerous phone calls had begun, with the company contact person, the venue, the caterer, the event planner and me, all trying to figure out what to do, if the event should even go on, and is the world coming to an end!!! After much discussion, it was determined that since all of the people involved were already in Denver, there was a “no fly zone” in effect nationwide, the food was prepared and everything was ready to go, that the event would still take place.
As the guests arrived, we were in an area playing background music while everyone was mingling and talking about the event of the day. Instead of being a festive, joyous gathering, of course it was very somber, and there was only one thing on everyone’s mind. So, we’re playing, people are talking and munching and drinking, strolling around looking at the sea creatures and then it happened. It was like Alfred Hitchcock’s, “The Birds”.
First, one person stopped in front of the band and started paying attention and listening to the music. Then another, then a few more. Before long, there were dozens of people standing shoulder to shoulder, people from all over the world, many different shades of skin and unique types of garbs, all standing together, watching, listening, letting the music pour over and through them. For a few minutes, everyone forgot about the tragic event that had happened only a few hours earlier that day.
The music washed over all of us, and the band could feel this amazing energy happening, and when we finished the song, which was titled, “Here’s That Rainy Day”, the folks just stood there, clapping, smiling, feeling as though for a moment, a giant weight had been lifted from all of our shoulders, and then they went back to socializing.
In that moment, I realized how powerful and healing music can be, and since that day, I consider what I do for a living, what we do as musicians, is that we are “Soul Soothers”! I feel that it is an honor and a privilege as my “job”, my purpose in this life, to “help the community and the world”, including myself, by soothing souls!
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Go here to read the rest of the interview:
https://shoutoutcolorado.com/meet-mark-diamond-bassist-band-leader-studio-musician-and-gig-farmer/
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
http://www.MarkDiamondMusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/mark.diamond.524
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Andrew Hudson on Fb, 2/04/2020: Many of my musician friends know bassist Mark Diamond. He’s not only one of the most talented and hardest working musicians in Denver, he is also a magnificent human being. He probably wouldn’t want me to post this…but I’m going to anyway.
Those who have ever worked at the [now closed] El Chapultepec jazz club in LoDo, probably know Earl. He’s the homeless guy who stands by the door and is always willing to help the musicians load in their equipment. He’s a real sweetheart of a guy who always has a smile on his face and has something positive to share and is a friend to everyone.
Earl, who stands about 6 ft 5 inches, had lost or worn out his size 18 shoes, which really sucks during the winter months. It is not easy to find size 18 shoes anywhere, particularly amongst the free handouts at the homeless shelters.
When Mark found out, he immediately went online and ordered Earl a brand new pair of size 18 shoes and personally delivered them to him.
In a world full of chaos, anxiety and fear, I hope we can all be inspired by Mark’s actions. We can all choose to do something nice for our fellow human beings. We all might have extra resources, time or talent to make the world a bit brighter.
Thanks Mark for that poignant and selfless reminder!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156900086361074&set=t.622265967&type=3
Kudos to Mark Diamond for Being Featured in Shout Out Colorado
