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Mark Ortega is a singer songwriter and pianist born and raised in Des Moines, IA. Mark started as a piano prodigy while in second grade. Being influenced by his father who is a tenor banjo, ukulele, and guitar player, Mark can play just about any type of music genre including dixieland, swing, jazz, big band and polkas, just to name a few. His mother loved 50's and 60's pop music and his Mexican and Italian grandmothers encouraged learning music and songs from their countries.

 

Mark Ortega has won numerous competitions including the Warren County Fair Talent Contest and earned a spot on the Bill Riley Talent Contest at the Iowa State Fair and most recently was a finalist for the Windy City Idol Competition.

 

In high school, Mark won the coveted Louis Armstrong Jazz award for excellence in creativity and performance in jazz. Mark has also played multiple times for the Governor of Iowa.

 

In college, Mark studied jazz, classical and music composition at the University of North Texas. Upon moving to California, Mark developed his Sinatra/Martin/Big Band persona, as well as being a rising pop star. (See Team Rock Star.)

 

In 2010 while in Chicago, Mark founded Mark Ortega Entertainment and developed and produced a Rat Pack-esque show called “Mark Ortega and Friends.” The show featured a collection of very talented vocalists and performers which was partially scripted but left a lot to improvised shenanigans leaving the audience thoroughly entertained. The show featured a lot of Sinatra/Martin/Connick/Buble big band tunes but also featured Broadway and jazz tunes sprinkled with modern pop songs.

 

The Rat Pack concept is timeless and spans the generations. Thus, Mark is content providing smooth jazzy or classical instrumental background music to an intimate audience, or producing a show with multiple showstopping Broadway-esque performers that will fill a club. No matter what the occasion, Mark is always honored when asked to entertain, whatever the genre or event.

 

For bookings or additional questions, please email markortegaentertainment@gmail.com or visit the contact page.

 


 

More Music Coming Soon! Until then, Check out videos on main Team Rat Pack Page.

An in depth look at Mark Ortega's Musical Journey and the Rat Pack Concept.

 

Mark Ortega was born and raised in Des Moines, IA where his musical aspirations came early. While listening to his older brother practice his piano lesson, Mark was able to play exactly what his brother was practicing. His parents immediately believed he had a gift and promptly supported lessons for him. At the time, Mark was in second grade.

 

Early on, Mark's music tastes were heavily influenced by his parents, and especially by his father who played the tenor banjo and loved Dixieland, Polkas, Big Band and Swing. His mother too encouraged Mark to learn pop songs from the 50's and 60's and even his Mexican and Italian grandmothers encouraged learning songs from their countries. Throughout grade school, Mark continued to study classical pieces with his piano teacher Alma Angran.

 

It was during this time, Mark developed a “Liberace flare” on the piano. It was surprising because Mark was a shy and somewhat introverted boy and had to be coaxed into performing, but once the light was on him, he shined brightly. He blew away his competition at the Warren County Fair and earned a spot on the Bill Reilly Talent Contest at the Iowa State Fair. Mark also won the Hot Air Balloon Talent Show in Indianola, IA.

 

Throughout high school, Mark could be seen at Von Maur's in West Des Moines, providing piano music on their signature black baby grand. He was youngest player and was a hit and received multiple private gig offers. One listener at Von Maur's was the Govenor of Iowa's wife. She invited Mark to play at the Govenor's Mansion when they hosted private parties. Mark was honored to be asked back multiple times and was even approached to give their children lessons.

 

In high school, Mark's musical influences expanded. Mark tried out and earned a spot in the marching and concert bands playing marimba and bells his freshman year. There was a need for trombones during his sophomore year so Mark quickly transitioned into that role. By the time he was a senior, he was bass trombonist in the Jazz band and co-section leader for trombones.

 

It was while attending Iowa State University as a freshman that Mark realized his passion for Jazz. His band director in high school, Jerry Tolson, had some influence on that. Mr. Tolson graduated from the University of North Texas which was renowned for its Jazz Studies school. While in high school under Tolson's leadership, the jazz band became respected around the state and by Mark's senior year, the band placed 5th in the state championships, a feat never before accomplished.

 

Mark was humbled and honored to be the recipient of the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award his senior year in recognition of outstanding achievement by an instrumentalist in the field of jazz, as demonstrated through superior musicianship, character and individual creativity.

 

The University of North Texas was the perfect place for Mark to develop as an artist because of the opportunity to combine all of his musical skills, knowledge and experiences into one place of learning and development. It was here he studied songwriting, instrumentation, and expanded his classical skills as well as jazz improvisation and performance. It was also here where Mark discovered an untapped resource; his voice.

 

In the 1990's, Mark was anxious to apply all of his college experiences and knowledge and made the decision to head west to California to pursue his dream of making it somewhere in the music industry. In an instant, he met Marss Ramos and their synth-pop band Digital Soldiers was born. (Click on TEAM DIGITAL SOLDIERS for in depth information on that project.)

 

Not wanting to completely be submerged solely into pop, Mark continued to network with other musicians. It was a fateful day in Orange County, CA while jamming with a co-worker, Mark noticed his “Complete Frank Sinatra Karaoke Collection.” In an instant, Mark was hooked and became obsessed with the songs and devoted numerous hours learning them and studying all about Frank Sinatra.

 

The jazz purists at North Texas had marginalized Sinatra in the broad scope of jazz but after looking deeper and listening to all he had to offer, Mark soon realized that his preconceptions were wrong.

 

While expanding further into Sinatra's songs and history, it was inevitable the name Dean Martin would surface. Mark instantly connected with Dean's persona. His wit, charm and humor made him a captivating performer. Dean also was not afraid to embrace his Italian side and recorded some very memorable songs beckoning back to my own grandmother's requests for such songs.

 

The “pack” was complete after Mark saw video performances by Sammy Davis Jr. and listening to live performances on MP3. By far the best showman of the three, Sammy also had the best vocal range and could dance to boot.

 

Mark's modern day influences are Harry Connick Jr., who is not only a great singer, he is also a great jazz piano player. Michael Buble has the charm and humor of Dean Martin, the vocal phrasing like Sinatra and brings it all together with a kickin' big band. Diana Krall, a respected jazz vocalist and pianist, honors Sinatra with her silky and sexy versions of some of his most popular songs.

 

Mark's Rat Pack influences were the foundation for his shows he produced in Chicago called “Mark Ortega and Friends.” He brought together very talented vocalists and performers and put on a show which was partially scripted but left a lot to improvised shenanigans which made them very entertaining.

 

This Rat Pack concept is timeless and spans the generations. Thus, Mark is content providing smooth jazzy music to an intimate audience or producing a show with multiple showstopping Broadway-esque performers that will fill a club.  No matter what the occasion, Mark is always honored when asked to entertain, whatever the genre or event.

 

For bookings please email markortegaentertainment@gmail.com or visit the contact page.

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