Mark Tokar is a world-class Ukrainian jazz musician. He played with such world-famous musicians as Piatras Vyshniauskas, Klaus Kugel, Ken Vandermark and Mykola Tshaska, and now he defends Ukraine against Russian military aggression. While studying at the Lviv Music School named after Lyudkevich, Mark first focused on the guitar, and then took up the double bass. He continued his studies in Poland, taking lessons from the American jazzman Michael Parkinson. He became the first Ukrainian to perform at the prestigious Chicago Jazz Festival (2012). In Ukraine, he took part in theatrical, literary and musical projects, in particular together with the writer Yury Andruhovych, the poet Maryana Sadovska, and the writer and musician Serhii Zhadan. Mark joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in March 2022, serving in the infantry. He has supported the Ukrainian army since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2014. So, he created the musical multimedia project "Remember", which consists of video interviews with military personnel. He continued work on this project in 2022 after the full-scale invasion, presenting it at the Riga Art Center in January 2023. During 2022, Mark and his band also participated in international music festivals, representing Ukrainian artists at war, particularly in Lithuania and Latvia.
