Mark Scott III is a jazz guitarist based out of Austin, Texas. Working regularly as both a leader and a sideman, he has performed in many notable venues and festivals across Texas, including Monk’s Jazz Club, Parker Jazz Club, Stubb’s Amphitheater, The Mohawk, Denton Arts & Jazz Festival, & others. He has been fortunate enough to share the stage with jazz luminaries Branford Marsalis, Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker, John Fedchock, & others. He has done frequent session musician work at 5th Street Studios, Cedar Creek recordings, and other studios throughout Austin & beyond. He currently works as a professor at Tarleton State University, where he directs Jazz Ensemble II, maintains a studio of guitarists, and teaches a Popular Music in America course.

Mark graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies. He earned his Master’s in jazz studies in May 2023 from the University of Texas in Austin under the tutelage of Diego Rivera. While serving as a teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin, Mark taught beginning jazz improvisation and instructed jazz small groups, among other duties. Additionally, he has frequently served as a judge for the TMEA All-State jazz guitar competition. He is a gifted educator with ten years of professional teaching experience.

Mark Scott III’s debut jazz trio album “Soft Light” (02/21/2025) explores the varieties of the human experience, from the seemingly mundane to the depths of sorrow and joy. Catalyzed by a sudden loss in his family, Mark composed a suite of original compositions dedicated to his loved ones who have passed, as well as to the life he has now. Both tender and resilient, “Soft Light” embodies the trials, tribulations, and lessons that life has to offer, and “is a very impressive debut that makes one look forward to Mark Scott III’s future projects” (Scott Yanow).