Mark Sanders
b. 31 August 1960, Beckenham, Kent, England. A self-taught drummer who combines power with agility and precision, Sanders began his career playing with a disco band at UK American Air Force bases. He turned to jazz in 1984, studying with Will Evans who, along with Elvin Jones and Tony Oxley, was a major influence. His first jazz engagements were with Lyn Dobson, Stu Brown, Pete Nu and Elton Dean. In 1987 he joined Mervyn Afrika's Kaap Finale and formed a duo with Phil Durrant. Since 1988 he has played in duos and trios with Evan Parker, and has often worked with bassist Paul Rogers. He and Rogers have provided an intense and versatile rhythm section for Atlas (with John Law on piano), Parker, Dennis Gonzalez and the Elton Dean Trio. He has recently been working with Jon Lloyd and Spirit Level, and was part of the Paul Rogers Sextet which toured Britain in 1990 with the Arts Council-commissioned Anglo American Sketches. He has also played with Dreamtime (with Nick Evans), Dick Heckstall-Smith's DHSS, and in a quartet with Peter Cusack, Clive Bell and Dean Broderick.