Jazz Articles about Michael Marcus

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 ...

Duology: Golden Atoms

by Jerry D'Souza
July 27, 2008

Michael Marcus (Bb clarinet) and Ted Daniel (trumpet) have long been distinctive improvisers. Both have made a mark not only on the free jazz scene, but also with mainstream bands. Whatever the setting, they have found the space to add their own impulses to enrich the music. And so, of the many duos that have popped up in the world of jazz, this one makes a marked impression. Marcus and Daniel create intuitive nuggets as they play a dozen tunes ...

Michael Marcus: Truth, Love and Soul

by Ludwig vanTrikt
August 14, 2007

Philadelphia performance artist “Skip" Homer Jackson recently asked my opinion about a number of jazz artists who have been overlooked because they were great stylists who played in the shadows of great players. I immediately thought of Booker Ervin in relationship to John Coltrane; and Booker Little, who ironically was little (no pun intended) appreciated during the 1960's era of stellar jazz hornmen. In the back of my mind too, was the multi-instrumentalist/band leader and composer Michael Marcus.

The following ...

Michael Marcus: Duology & The Magic Door

by Jeff Stockton
June 3, 2007

Michael Marcus and Ted Daniel Duology Boxholder 2007 Michael Marcus The Magic Door Not Two 2007

Michael Marcus comes from the Rahsaan Roland Kirk school of multi-instrumentalism and whether on his own (Speaking Out, Drimala) or with his best-known partner (Sonny Simmons in the Cosmosamatics), variety of tonal color and timbre ...

Michael Marcus & Ted Daniel: Duology

by Budd Kopman
May 26, 2007

Duology is an extremely interesting album that shows how much musical communication depends upon the players and not the instrumentation. Michael Marcus, who plays all manner of reed instruments, sticks to Bb clarinet here, while Ted Daniel plays four members of the trumpet family, including something called a Moroccan bugle. The lack of a rhythm section and chordal instrument actually expands the possibilities of interaction between Marcus and Daniel. Once the starkness of the musical setting is ...