Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Mark Scurlock Jr.’s relationship with music literally began, as he says, almost before he can remember. His parents surrounded him with music from infancy, and he began studying piano in elementary school before discovering the saxophone – a decision inspired, somewhat unexpectedly, by Henry Mancini’s iconic theme to The Pink Panther. Throughout middle and high school, he excelled in band, earned All-City and All-District honors and eventually pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance at Texas Southern University.

His years at TSU proved lifechanging. As both a member of the Joe Sample Jazz Orchestra and later one of the musicians personally selected by Joe Sample to form R.A.D.S. Krusaders, Scurlock absorbed lessons that continue to inspire and guide his artistry today. Among the most unforgettable was Sample’s insistence that even changing a song’s tempo by two beats per minute could transform its emotional impact—a revelation that forever deepened Scurlock’s appreciation for the smallest musical details.

After sixteen rewarding years (thirteen at his last school) teaching elementary music, directing bands and choirs and inspiring countless young students to discover the joy of music, Scurlock recognized it was time to pursue the solo career he had envisioned since first learning to improvise. Sample of Blue represents not a departure from his past but the culmination of every lesson, performance and life experience that brought him here.