|
"I
seek to further the tradition of jazz music by embracing
its rich history, by building on the ground work laid
by the masters such as Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus,
and Thelonious Monk, and by exploring creative ways
to expose and preserve this great American art form."
An award winning musician, Marcus Shelby studied at
California Institute of the Arts as a recipient of
the Charles Mingus Scholarship. He leads the popular
GRP/Impulse! recording group BLACK/NOTE, an ensemble
widely acknowledged as trailblazers among the rising
number of young neo-classic jazz musicians, with whom
he has released four critically acclaimed albums.
Mr.
Shelby, a bassist, has performed throughout the United
States, Europe, Asia, Canada and Mexico. He has worked
with legendary jazz artists Billy Higgins, Eddie Harris,
Joe Henderson, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Childs and Sir
Roland Hannah among many others, and toured with Wynton
Marsalis. He was a featured soloist for the San Francisco
Philharmonic’s Gerswhin tribute, under the director
of Michael Tilson Thomas in 1999.
A prolific composer, Marcus Shelby writes music for
feature and independent films, theater productions
and for other recording artists. While in partnership
with publishing powerhouse Chrysalis Music, he composed
music for the films Higher Learning and The White
Man’s Burden. His theatrical stage scores include
Emitt Till (Hollywood, San Francisco) and King Lear
(San Francisco). The 1999 HBO documentary Lenny Bruce
with narration by Robert DeNiro features his original
compositions.
Mr. Shelby founded Noir Records in 1996 in order to
provide opportunities for creative recording artists
with a concentration in art music. As President/CEO
of the independent label, he produces and distributes
jazz, classical, world music and spoken word recordings.
The San Francisco-based Noir Records is also active
in youth outreach, offering music workshops and scholarship
awards.
Marcus Shelby himself is the recipient of numerous
awards and recognitions. The Los Angeles Weekly selected
him as an outstanding artist of 1997. In 1998 he was
honored by Dockers as one of the 100 most influential
people between 25 - 34 in San Francisco, and awarded
an ASCAP Popular Award for Songwriters and Composers.
The
official 1997 San Francisco Jazz Festival poster featured
the image of Shelby and his bass, and he also performed
in a long-running national Coca Cola commercial. Mr.
Shelby recently expanded his creative range in a stage
production of Sam Shepherd’s play Suicide in
B-Flat (San Francisco).
The Marcus Shelby Trio currently performs throughout
the West Coast. Their music consists of original compositions
by Shelby and arrangements from the standard repertoire.
Source:
http://www.jazzantiqua.org/Pages/Bios.html
|
