EP58: Trumpeter Mark Rapp, Founder of ColaJazz

Mark Rapp’s resume as a performing artist is impressive enough. He has performed in jazz clubs and festivals around the world from Croatia, Brasil, Austria, Switzerland, and the US, including back-to-back appearances at the 2017 and 2018 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. His celebrated 2009 debut release “Token Tales” earned him DownBeat magazine’s recognition as a “Top Emerging Trumpeter,” a sold-out Blue Note appearance, and a spot in the famed Newport Jazz Festival. Moreover, he is the founder of the ColaJazz Foundation, an initiative in his adopted home of Columbia, South Carolina, which hosts a premier annual jazz festival as well as ongoing performances by leading jazz figures, and an outreach program that includes three Summer Camps and jazz-based education sessions at schools throughout the state.