"Music is not about thinking, its about instinct and feeling, so to write about what inspires me musically is confounding. Obviously being a vocalist, a great voice inspires me, and great musical talent inspires me also, but the list of inspirational artists is too long to even begin to write.

So I will put this simply, above all else I am inspired by the voice. It’s the essence, the timbre, the uniqueness. The scope of emotion, of beauty, of elation and desperation. It’s the tangible and the intangible.

My professional jazz career began in 2004 when I formed the three piece jazz band “Rouge”. I performed with The Rouge Jazz Trio at weddings and Corporate events, (at the The Mudbrick Vineyard, The Estate and The Dunes on Waiheke Island). We also had a weekly gig on Thursdays at The Cats Tango Bar and were selected to play at various sponsored events on Waiheke Island.

I now work with a number of other musicians forming duos, trios and quartets, and have accumulated a large repetoir of over 80 jazz, blues and soul songs."

Mark Cross' paintings speak to me of mysterious truths, beyond those the images initially appear to reveal.