Mark Parkinson is a freelance flautist based in Lancashire. He trained both classically and as a jazz musician but has been playing in a wide range of rock bands since his early teens, so his specialisms are rock flute, improvisation – all types and styles, not just jazz or baroque – and flute contemporary technique. He teaches all these – mainly in group and other workshop settings – and performs regularly with a range of bands and ensembles. He also writes music occasionally, and is a published composer, in a small way, with one published work, for flute quartet.
Mark is the flautist for leading Jethro Tull tribute band Cold Flame, whose appearances at festivals are always popular and acclaimed. As a jazz musician, Mark leads his own contemporary quartet – Spark! – and is a sideman with the Latin jazz quintet Sequoia, based in Liverpool. He is also a member of the Warrington-based professional flute quintet Flutiful, who play a wide range of music, some of it specially written for the quintet.