Charlotte-based guitarist Mark Sullivan was born and raised in Detroit. Sullivan first picked up the guitar in the 60's as a teen inspired by the fuzz-tone pyrotechnics of Jimi Hendrix. His fondness for early effects pedals led him to a serious study of electronic composers such as Xenakis, Stockhausen and Cage while studying composition at the University of Michigan. Frustrated by the inaccessibility of the avant garde and the lack of improvisatory freedom in the form, Sullivan then turned to the late-60's electric jazz experiments of Miles Davis. With electric jazz ensembles, he found he could explore his interest in electronics and modern composition while enjoying the freedom to improvise in a more accessible, rhythmic context. While Sullivan still enjoys playing in groups and interpreting Coltrane, Davis and Monk, the financial difficulty of maintaining a working ensemble led him in the 70's to investigate solo performance. Inspired by the tape-delay electronic systems used by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp on their early-70's collaborations, Sullivan began using delay effects in his solo playing. This new system allowed him to play layered, textural compositions which bring to mind the pulse-driven minimalism of Reich and Glass. Creating delay loop patterns also gives Sullivan a backdrop for his improvisations, which can range from the meditative to the incendiary.
