Michael Marcus

Biography

MICHAEL MARCUS -8-25-52-clarinetist-multi-woodwind player & composer-- Michael Marcus, has been an active member of the New York jazz scene for over 20 years. Since releasing his debut recording, "Under The Wire" (Enja,1991), he has continued to be part of the cutting edge in American improvised music, touring the festival and club circuits recently both in the U.S. (Eddie Moore, EarshotJazz fest), Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver & Ottawa Jazz festivals) and Europe (Bolzano Jazz festival-Italy, Rive de Gier festival-France, Brno Jazz Festival, Czech.) with his trio of bassist Tarus Mateen and drummers Jay Rosen or Nasheet Waits. Michael now has 12 recordings as a leader, all on internationally recognized Jazz labels (Justin Time, SoulNote, Enja, Not Two & Ayler).

Marcus has performed and recorded with: Albert King, Bobby Blue Bland(w/Mel Brown, Wayne Bennett& Morris Atchinson), Sonny Simmons (with whom he fronts the Cosmosamatics group), Jaki Byard Trio, Rahn Burton, Billy Higgins, Carlos “Patato” Valdes, Ted Daniel, Jymie Merritt, Alvin Fielder, Chris Parker, Oliver Truchot, Warren Smith. Vince Wallace, Fred Hopkins, Philip Wilson, "Bishop" Norman Williams, B.J.PAPA, Clifford Barbaro, Masa Kamaguchi, Roy Campbell , Steve Neil, Larry Hancock, Joe LaBarbra, Mel Graves, Charles & Cody Moffett, Chris Sullivan, Reggie Nicholson, Carlos Ward, Matt Brewer, Eric Revis, Richard Clements, Taru Alexander, Rashaan Carter, Daniel Levin, Francois Grillot, Eric McPherson, Art Lewis, Peter Herbert, Emil Ram, John Patton, Scott Colley, Curtis Lundy, Bob Feldman, Xavier Davis, Gene Jackson, Sonny Rhodes, Donald Smith, Eddie Gladden, Cecil Wells, Newman T. Baker, Georg Wolf & Bruce Edwards.
He has also been associated with the Makanda Ken McIntyre Ensemble, Grachan Moncur's big band, Zane Massey and the Liberation Suite , Jemeel Moondoc's JUS GREW Orchestra (w/Steve Swell, Bern Nix & Gerald Cleaver),trombonist Joe Bowie's Defunkt, and Saxemble (with Frank Lowe, James Carter & Cindy Blackman) and many more great artists, globally. In June 1995, he participated in the first Roland Kirk Memorial at The Cooler, NYC, playing solo.

*Mr. Marcus, one of the last individuals to receive a performance grant from the NEA (National Endowment of the Arts) composed the string arrangements to his original music. These compositions were performed for the first time with a string quartet in November 1998 during a concert at the University of Memphis, as part of a Southern US tour and again in September 1999 at New York City’s Museum Of Modern Art.

A classic session of Marcus' from 1993 was issued for the very first time entitled "Ithem" (Ayler records) with bassist William Parker and the late drummer Denis Charles, and also, his first highly acclaimed unaccompanied recording "Speakin Out" (Drimala,2002)

Michael (2005) has had the exceptional reward performing with the legendary drum master Edgar Bateman in a "duo" context, performing in ENGLAND at the "On The Outside Festival" (w/Elton Dean, Paul Rutherford, Joe Morris & Alan Silva) along with his continuation in touring/recording internationally with The Cosmosamatics (London Jazz Festival-Banlieues Bleues Festival, Vision Festival(w/Andrew Cyrille &Dominic Duval))-Tampere Jazz Festival) and his quartet w/Ted Daniel(Blue Note Monday series-NYC).

In 2006 he will celebrate his new release on SoulNote "SOULIFICATIONS!!-a trio with both Tarus Mateen & Nasheet Waits and the release of his first recording featuring his original compositions all on Bb clarinet for Nottwo Records-"The Magic Door" (Jan. 2007).

Also, Michael has joined forces with Ted Daniel to form an innovative duet called"DUOLOGY", performing and recording exclusively on Bb clarinet!.This group recorded their debut for Boxholder Records- April/May 2007 will find Michael on tour with his clarinet trio: w/Aaron James & Jay Rosen..............

http://www.justin-time.com/authors/michaelmarcus

Selected critic’s comments:

"Master improvising clarinetist!" Cadence mag.2007

“Michael Marcus comes out of Coltrane, Kirk, and Dolphy but has his own sound” Thomas Conrad Downbeat Magazine

“Marcus writes some of the finest tunes on the avant-garde scene” Time Out Magazine, NY

“Michael Marcus is a passionate player and a fluent composer of themes that inspire improvisers” Bob Blumenthal, Boston Globe

“He plays on that Dolphy-esque knife between inside and outside that makes for joyous listening” Ben Watson, The Wire Magazine