The Allaway/Antonia Quartet was formed in the early 1990's,'SAMIZDAT' was their first released album. 　　 　　 　　Born into a musical family, Mark started performing professionally as a young teenager. After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music in London where he received expert tuition from Jean Toussaint [ex Art Blakey] and British jazz legend Don Rendell, Mark was invited to tour Europe with the internationally renowned saxophone quartet Itchy Fingers playing opposite many top American artists including David Sanborn, Cecil Taylor, Bob Berg and Chick Corea. The tour incorporated most of the major European Jazz festivals - Stokholm, Vienna, Lugano, Leipzig and Frankfurt. 　　 　　Mark has recorded two critically acclaimed jazz albums under his own name 'Samizdat' and 'When Time Stops'. He also recorded with the London Jazz Orchestra and as a sideman on various other musicians' projects. 　　 　　Over the years Mark has toured extensively with Shirley Bassey, Salena Jones and Helen Shapiro and has appeared at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club opposite Elvin Jones. 　　 　　During his time at the Guildhall School of Music, Mark was also able to develop his compositional and arranging skills. This lead to the composition of a score for the play 'Singular Women' by Stewart Permutt [performed in London's West End] and to a commission for BBC Music Live Day. Mark also wrote a large amount of material for the contemporary classical group Quadraphonic which appears on their first CD release. He now continues to write for various media outlets as well as for more artistic projects. 　　 　　Mark's saxophone playing can be heard on the theme tune to BBC's Animal Hospital as well as various other film and television soundtracks. 　　 　　SAMIZDAT REVIEWS 　　 　　'The core of this album is a clutch of brilliantly melodic 　　original tunes.' The Birmingham Post 　　 　　'Mark Allaway is surely a name to watch. His improvisations imply a warm melodic line; in fact he is one of those rarities who can play a theme almost straight, yet it's still jazz!' Brian Davis