Mark Hazzard was born in Frankfurt Germany. His mother observed his musical talent at an early age and enrolled him at Sherwood Music School in Vallejo, California, at age 4. His uncle, musician Cal Tjader, encouraged him to enjoy "show biz". At age 15, he had the opportunity to play with the legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker. At age 17 he was playing professionally at the River Inn in Big Sur, California. As their house pianist, he has accompanied many notable jazz greats such as Pete Fountain, Jackie Coon, Bill Watrous, and Jake Stock to name a few. At that time he was also employed by Al Jardine of the Beach Boys to teach his son Adam piano. At age 25, romance took him to Seattle, where he attended South Seattle Community College for classes in recording and big band arrangements. Although rock and roll and country music are at the heart of his musical upbringing, his mother also encouraged him to appreciate and perform many classic jazz standards. This led to his current love for music of the roaring 20's. Mark was a part of the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band when it formed. He currently plays with the Oregon Jazz Band, Jake the Cat, and the popular band Vanness Express. He has his own band Class Act which regularly features Oregon's premier reedman Paul J. Biondi.
