Music Man Mark Fogel played his way to Naples

You can swoon over Guns 'n' Roses star Axl Rose. Mark Fogel is impressed with Ron Thal, the group's guitar player for eight years.

And while Harry Chapin had the name power, Fogel admired his drummer, Howie Fields.

"Another wonderful musician," he called him. Everyone talks about the stars, but Fogel waxes eloquent about the talented players behind them. He knows firsthand, having worked with the skilled musicians who backed up Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Frank Sinatra, NRBQ, Billy Joel, Tower of Power and more.

The Naples freelance guitarist has played with so many good musicians he has a name among them himself. Some of music’s best practitioners specify him when they come to town, people like Songwriters Hall of Fame composer Charles Fox (“Killing Me Softy,” the “Love Boat” and “Happy Days” TV themes).

More:Listen to Mark Fogel's music

The audience will get a sampling of what Fogel has learned from his 50 years of playing when he brings his solo show to the Marco Island Center for the Arts Tuesday (See information box). He’ll cut a wide swath of guitar music, from classical — learned while earning his music degree at Brooklyn College — to jazz and rock, augmented by his mellow vocals. There will doubtlessly be songs from Carlos Santana, Joe Pass, Antonio Carlos Jobim, among some rock and show favorites. If the audience coaxes, he might even play one of his own compositions.

The Brooklyn-born Fogel, 62, has played in the pit for off-Broadway revivals of shows such as “Guys and Dolls” and “Grease” as well as with megawatt bands. His career includes pop and rock shows from Manhattan to the Catskills and he’s even worked with the Southwest Florida Symphony.

His mettle was tested in his early years by crowds who wanted diverse music. When you wanted to be invited back, you needed to know it all.

“We’d be playing the Allman Brothers and Gloria Gaynor in the same night,” he recalled. This  was the career Fogel wanted, however.

“I guess you could say I’m one of those kids who saw the Beatles on TV and that ruined me for life,” Fogel joked.

“I had no pretensions about being rich and famous. I was very happy playing guitar, and figured if I could do that all my life, I’d be a very happy guy,” he said. “And I’m fortunate it turned out that way,”

His toughest job? Playing with the Big Apple Circus orchestra. The antics of the circus animals and performers dictated the show’s rhythm and music.

 “The conductor would just would literally point, like that, and we would have to jump to a measure 30 measures away — no downbeat or anything, and we’d just have to go!” he recalled. “And this wasn’t circus music, the traditional circus tunes. We were playing rock and jazz and all kinds of wiry stuff.”

The bands he worked with also kept him nimble, he said: "In Manhattan, they were the cream of the crop. When they were in town and not on the road, they’d play in other bands, and it was great working with these musicians.”

Besides learning from them, Fogel has taught others. He was one of the founding instructors for the Sam Ash Music Institute in New York. But he continued to play band jobs whenever they were available. He remembers the hungry early years, when nirvana was a fully booked weekend.

“When you had a job Friday and two on Saturday and Sunday, you were doing great,” recalled his wife, Diane, a vocalist who often works with her husband.

The two were lured to Naples by a show Mark Fogel had been hired to play for a weekend.

“I was flown down here by one of those corporate bands to do a gig, and I looked around and said, ‘Wow!’” he said of Naples.

 So 10 years ago, the two brought their musical talents down here, where Fogel says there are a surprising number of opportunities. The Fogels  perform in Naples as the duo Mr. and Mrs.; they’re familiar sights at Evenings on Fifth — just look for the corner where people are dancing.

Mark Fogel still plays private events as well; he recently played a private party with Mary Bridget Davies, Tony nominee for “A Night with Janis Joplin.”

“She was amazing. She did Joplin to a T, and even better than Joplin.”

The Fogels prefer to stay in Southwest Florida for their work.

“I never wanted to go on the road. I was never one who enjoyed the discomforts of traveling on the road. I learned early that unless you were with the top stars, travel was hard,” Mark Fogel  said.

He recalled his moment of decision, at one far away venue with a tour that had taken him to one of the Carolinas, where he knew no one. At 4 a.m. during a late night job, his amplifier “literally exploded. Flames were shooting out of the amp.”

If you go

‘Mark Fogel: The Beat Goes On’

When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 25

Where: Marco Island Center for the Arts,

Tickets: $25

To buy: 239-394-9221

Information: marcoislandart.org

Something else: More information on Mark Fogel at markfogelmusic.com and mrandmrsmusic.com