Jazz Articles about Michael Marcus

Michael Marcus, Forest Chorus, Joao Lencastre & Perelman/Shipp

by Maurice Hogue
October 31, 2022

Europe's improvised scene is well-represented in this edition of One Man's Jazz with samplings of new releases by Forest Chorus which feature the great multi-reedist from Finland, Mikko Innanen, Portguese drummer Joao Lencastre & Communion, and three women artists making lots of waves: bassist Silvia Bolognesi from Italy, French pianist Cécille Cappozzo and German drummer Eva Klesse. Three veteran saxophonists also have interesting new releases: Michael Marcus, Daniel Carter (with Green Soul) and Ivo Perelman with Matthew Shipp. And some ...

Blue Reality Quartet: Blue Reality Quartet!

by John Sharpe
August 15, 2021

Back in 2001 when reedman Michael Marcus' trio waxed a disc under the title Blue Reality (Soulnote, 2002), he could scarcely have imagined the circumstances under which he might resurrect the name. As the four masked faces on the cover of Blue Reality Quartet! show, times are sadly very different. Joining Marcus in the studio in November 2020 are and drummer Jay Rosen from the original date, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee and percussionist Warren Smith. A plethora of connections informs the ...

Duology + 2 at the London Jazz Festival

by John Sharpe
December 27, 2009

Duology + 2 Cafe OtoLondonNovember, 13, 2009

The opening night of the London Jazz Festival provided a rare opportunity to hear clarinetist Michael Marcus and trumpeter Ted Daniel--two seasoned, but unsung denizens of the New York scene--in the intimate surroundings of Dalston's Cafe Oto.

Marcus made his debut with the blues bands of Albert King and Bobby “Blue" Bland, before becoming a prominent figure in the free jazz scene from the 1980s onward ...

Michael Marcus: Lotus Symphony

by John Sharpe
April 21, 2009

Improvisers who concentrate on the clarinet are a select bunch, perhaps something to do with the difficulty of navigating its tricky three registers--a far cry from the early days of jazz when the clarinet's cry was integral to Dixieland and swing ensembles. Multi-instrumentalist Michael Marcus has only lately joined that coterie lost in the licorice stick's possibilities, saying in a 2007 interview , “I find it easier now to fulfill some of my thoughts with the clarinet, through musical articulations ...

Michael Marcus: Lotus Symphony, Free Within The Law & Duology

by Marc Medwin
April 4, 2009

Michael MarcusLotus SymphonyNot Two2008 The CosmosamaticsFree Within The LawNot Two2008 DuologyGolden AtomsSoul Note2008 Saxophonist and clarinetist Michael Marcus further establishes his versatility with these three recent releases. In various instrumental configurations and featuring long-time collaborators, these are diverse discs where craft and commitment merge to create ...

Michael Marcus: Lotus Symphony

by Troy Collins
December 29, 2008

A criminally under-sung multi-instrumentalist, Michael Marcus' collaborations with Ted Daniel, Frank Lowe, and Sonny Simmons over the past two decades have yielded some of the most enduring and adventurous sounds in modern jazz. A soulful stylist on soprano, alto, and baritone saxophone, Marcus is also an advocate of the more esoteric members of the saxophone family, such as the manzello, stritch, and saxello (all originally popularized by Rahsaan Roland Kirk).

Lately however, Marcus has abandoned doubling in order ...

Michael Marcus: Lotus Symphony

by Jerry D'Souza
November 25, 2008

Michael Marcus is a multi-instrumentalist who has shown mettle on the manzello, the stritch, the saxello, as well as the alto, baritone and soprano saxophones and the clarinet. He has recently been gravitating towards the clarinet and has played solely on the Bb clarinet on Golden Atoms (Soul Note, 2008) and here on Lotus Symphony.

The high mark of this release is the way in which Marcus balances improvisation and composition. This is done through a shifting line-up ...