Saxophonist and educator, Mark Jackovic earned a bachelors degree from Duquesne University in music education in 2011. Following graduation Jackovic played in several bands throughout the Pittsburgh region. In 2011 as part of the Center of Life Jazz Band, Jackovic took 2nd place in the Open Combo division at the Next Generation Jazz Festival in Monterey, CA.

In 2012, Jackovic was accepted into The Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University where he earned a master’s degree in jazz performance. During Jackovic’s time at Rutgers University he studied, improvisation, arranging, composition, jazz history, and jazz theory under Conrad Herwig, Kenny Davis, Victor Lewis, Mark Gross, Lewis Porter and Bill O’Connell as well as a myriad of guest artists. Rutgers University also gave him the opportunity to study privately from theorist, composer, and saxophonist Ralph Bowen.

From 2014 to 2016 Jackovic worked as the Jazz Coordinator at Center of Life, an out of school program in music and arts that serves the Hazelwood community of Pittsburgh. While working for Center of Life Jackovic developed curriculum, taught 1st through 12th grade students, managed program budgets, and performed managerial duties. Also, during that time Jackovic worked part-time as the Front House Coordinator at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild.

Jackovic is working full time as the Jazz Education and Archives Manager at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG). MCG Jazz has embedded a new jazz curriculum in several counties within West Virginia with the help of Jackovic reaching over 10,000 students since 2016. Jackovic is a published archivist providing materials for the PBS documentary “We Knew We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told” a film about the history of Pittsburgh and the jazz musicians who helped the music thrive. During the pandemic Jackovic created a suite of archival videos utilizing the MCG Jazz Pittsburgh Jazz Legends Oral History Collection in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.

Jackovic is endorsed by the mouthpiece company Theo Wanne. The Eastman ETS652RL and other 52nd Street models are Jackovic’s instruments of choice. Mark Jackovic has performed with: Marty Ashby, Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, Vivian Reed, The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Roger Humphries, Dwayne Dolphin, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., actor and vocalist Keith David, choreographer Dwight Rhoden's production of StrayLifeLushHorn with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Sachal Vasandani, James Tormé, Tony Martucci, Kenny Blake, Shelf Life String Band, Badboxes, Mystic Seers, Giant's Causeway, video editor and performer on Music from the 412 and more.