About Mark Holub

Eight years back, Mark Holub – the erudite but self-effacing teenager from New Jersey, emerging fresh faced onto the Manchester Airport tarmac – would have delivered a trademark guffaw if told of the blanket praise that would be heaped upon him in the coming years.

The young composer, drummer and musical subversive was in August 2007 described in Time Out London as “the most credible thing going in UK jazz” and his band Led Bib as avant garde saviours. “We need bands like Led Bib to make the world safe for dangerous music” read the Observer Music Monthly, and his drumming praised as being the most thrilling display of “blistering heat” one would think known to man.

He is also one of the hardest working musicians currently doing the rounds. In the last four months alone he has curated an acclaimed jazz festival, written a composition for a disability arts organisation, played over 30 gigs, written and recorded an album, accompanied contemporary dance, and still managed to fill in his tax return!

Mark Stephen Holub was born in the New York ‘burbs in 1981. Fired by the sounds of Ornette Coleman and John Zorn emanating from the downtown scene, he began his career playing jazz, rock and free improv around the state in the early 90s. Studying first at the world famous Berklee College of Music in Boston with Joe Hunt he then moved to University of Southern Maine where he specialised in jazz studies under Les Harris Jr. a student of renowned educator and drummer Alan Dawson.

After various scholarship offers 2000 saw Holub relocating to the UK specifically to study at Leeds College of Music. 2003 marked a move to London for an MA at Middlesex University and personal musical tuition with renowned flautist and composer Eddie Parker (Django Bates), with whom he began working on a new project - a maverick jazz band and an unlikely rock quintet who would later be named Led Bib. During that time he would further hone his drumming, studying with UK pioneers Martin France and Paul Clarvis.

December 2004 saw the formation of Led Bib’s final lineup: Holub (drums), Liran Donin (bass), Toby McClaren (Fender Rhodes and piano) and Chris Williams and Pete Grogan (alto sax). The group released their first album in May 2005 to widespread critical acclaim and went on to win the 2005 Peter Whittingham Jazz Award.

The award led to the ‘Dalston Summer Stew’ festival at the Vortex club in 2006 with Led Bib in residence alongside the cream of UK contemporary jazz musicians, including Matthew Bourne, Pinski Zoo and Iain Ballamy. ‘Sizewell Tea’ released through Babel in May ’07 rocketed the group into a new level of awareness and a string of high profile dates followed suit: at the 12 Points festival in Dublin, where twelve leading contemporary jazz groups represented twelve different EU countries, they appeared for Britain. Then on to the reopening event for the Royal Festival Hall and shows at a flurry of leading venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Pizza Express Soho, and various festivals across Europe including North Sea Jazz Festival and Wiesen Jazz Festival.

Alongside Led Bib, Holub is a member of other groups including Frognal, Luke Barlow Band, Spock and The People of Kloom. He has also worked independently on projects with Patrick Dawes (Groove Armada, Richie Havens) and on other specific session projects. He is a sought after composer and player for contemporary dance, he is an accompanist for London Contemporary Dance School at The Place and London Studio Centre. He regularly tours nationally and internationally, running master classes, performing and accompanying with Richard Alston Dance Company, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, English National Ballet, Sign Dance Collective, HeArt, and Diablo Arts.

A new limited edition live CD was just released by Led Bib to shouts of “Sun Ra didn’t die in vain” by The Times, and Mark finished another successful stint as festival curator, this time for the Spitalfields Summer Stew, including acts such as Billy Jenkins and Harry Beckett. Mark has just finished the new Led Bib studio album ‘Sensible Shoes’ for release in May 2009 by the American label Cuneiform Records.

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