Please give a listen to my new composition, “Tabasco,” in its debut performance by the Loyola University Maryland Jazz Combo on Dec. 2, 2025. I named it in honor of my father, who had the habit of sprinkling a generous amount of Tabasco sauce on his food. The sauce is pretty hot: I hope you think the tune is just as hot. And while you’re on YouTube why not check out the other tunes on my playlist, “Mark Osteen’s Works?”

I’m delighted to announce the release of the latest album by Cold Spring Jazz Quartet. Called Next of Kin, it includes nine of my new original compositions and four renditions of classics by Charles Mingus, Horace Silver, and Lerner and Loewe.

Many of the compositions on Next of Kin are inspired by or dedicated to loved ones. Along with the band members, each one of them has in some way contributed to the music on this recording. We love and salute you all! Beyond the immediate family, all living things on the planet are our kinfolk, the children of mother earth. The record calls us to treat them as such.

You may download individual tracks from Bandcamp here, or directly from the CSJQ website here.

Please enjoy this online webinar featuring DeLillo’s former editor, Gerald Howard,
and me in a freewheeling conversation sponsored by the Library of America. Click here to watch and listen.

The Loyola Jazz Combo’s premiere performance of my composition, “Shakshuka,” is now available for viewing on YouTube. Check it out here.

I’m delighted to announce that my creative nonfiction piece, “Why I Break Stuff,” has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the editors of The Maine Review. I am deeply honored by this nomination! Here’s a link to the essay:

I’m delighted to announce that my latest creative nonfiction essay, “Why I Break Stuff,” has just been published by The Maine Review!

Here is the url: https://mainereview.com/why-i-break-stuff/. Hope you enjoy it!

The Osteen family, ca. 1972.