Mark Birnbaum

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Mark Birnbaum (b. 1952) is an American musician.

A classically-trained composer and pianist, and a television personality, Birnbaum earned a Doctorate in Music from Columbia University in 1982. In 1983, he composed and directed the successful off-Broadway show, "A Day Together", which was funded by the Helena Rubenstein Foundation and travelled throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Encouraged by Andy Warhol, Steve Allen and a chance encounter with Richard Nixon, he moved to playing (and singing) ragtime, blues, and jazz, successfully appearing in Birdland, The Angry Squire, and other nightclubs in the New York City metropolitan area. From 1990 to 1993 he appeared nightly (dressed in flashy clothing) as staff pianist on the Joe Franklin television show (WWOR-TV).

At Edith O'Hara's 13th Street Theatre, Birnbaum has had successful one-man shows -'Ragtime 94', 'Ragtime 96' and most recently 'Hot Piano! Ragtime, Blues & Jazz'.

Nicknamed "Mr Ragtime" by Captain Lou Albano, Birnbaum continues to record, perform, and reinvent Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller and1920's-1950's music. In 2005, Birnbaum was awarded an honorary degree from the Neupauer Conservatory (the Order of the Shield) by Dr William Schimmel for his work with the accordion.

As a pedagogue, Birnbaum has pioneered a radical method to teaching the piano, involving meditation, deep breathing and slow motion transformation ("going faster by going slower").

As a tribute to the birthplace of Jazz, in 2006 he released "Jelly Roll Morton's Missing New Orleans" (piano & vocals).