Cafe Pacific Records

Vocalist and songwriter Mark Winkler is a mainstay on the Los Angeles jazz scene with a devoted fan base who packs his live performances. A prolific recording artist, Winkler has produced 20 previous albums, nearly one a year for the past several years. Downbeat Magazine said in their 4-star review of his 2022 release, Late Bloomin’ Jazzman, “Mark Winkler is an unsung hero of West Coast jazz. The singer and lyricist has been quietly churning out idiosyncratic hipster songs with a slightly retro feel for years.” He’s now releasing his 21st album, The Rules Don’t Apply, his most ambitious project yet. As a song stylist, Winkler’s range is wide and deep. He can swing like a horn player, touch hearts with a sensitive ballad, and deliver a humorous song with a sly wink. He captures all of these moods on The Rules Don’t Apply. Winkler wrote lyrics for eight of the original songs on the album. Mark Winkler’s music is always fun with a hipness that would not be out of place in a smoky jazz club in the 1950s, yet still keeping a contemporary edge. With its various jazz styles and different band configurations, The Rules Don’t Apply takes Winkler’s hipness to a whole new level.