Mark Anthony Brooker

“Mark Anthony Brooker is a vocal chameleon,” according to one music reviewer.  After performing in the Southeast for the last couple of decades, Mark has become part of the Los Angeles jazz, r&b and lately cabaret scene, making his pre-pandemic debut  in December at the historic Gardenia in West Hollywood in a show entitled, “The Singers I Love, and the Songs They Sing” and “The Wham of Sam, A Sammy Davis Jr. Tribute.”

Mark’s musical influences are varied, ranging from Frank Sinatra to Sam Cooke to James Brown.  “Use your imagination,” Mark says, “and you’ll likely hear me in there somewhere.” 

He displayed his jazz chops on his debut CD, “Influences,” recorded in Falls Church, Va., in 2001, which features local Washington D.C. musicians he befriended during his three years in the nation’s capital, including Paul Milesi on piano, Art Cobb on drums, Brett Lemley on trumpet, Dave Woodward on percussion and Donnie West and Mark Blackwell alternating on bass.

After leaving his hometown of Orangeburg, S.C. and an eight-year enlistment in the U.S. Army, Mark landed in Macon, Ga., where he had a chance to develop his talents in a variety of venues.  “I always knew I could sing,” he says, “but I didn’t find my soul until I moved to Macon.”

He became a local celebrity through his involvement in the Macon arts scene, performing at community events, charitable fund-raisers, festivals and even some wedding receptions, as well as acting at Theater Macon — under the direction of Jim Crisp — in such plays as Amadeus, City of Angels, The Full Monty and Smokey Joe’s Café.

It was in Macon that he wrote two of his original songs:  “Macon, Georgia (Good Enough for Me,” an homage to the city, which he recorded with his band, Mark Brooker and the Soul Proprietors, and “Peace of Mind,” a rock-oriented song he recorded with his rock band, The Neo Kats.

It was in Macon that Jessica Walden, the onetime music critic for the city’s 11th Hour Magazine, dubbed him “a vocal chameleon. ”As his musical journey continues, we are very pleased to announce the release of, “Keeper of my Dreams,” the first song from his forthcoming album of originals entitled, “Mark Anthony Brooker, The Soul Proprietor.”