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About Mitch Marcus

228

Album Review

Mitch Marcus: Countdown 2 Meltdown

Read "Countdown 2 Meltdown" reviewed by Terrell Kent Holmes

by Terrell Kent Holmes
May 11, 2010

Although its music is grounded in blues, bop and other time-honored constructs, the Mitch Marcus Quintet is not your usual jazz band. In fact, the MMQ's adventurous tunes, use of unusual meters and delightfully manic arrangements travel far beyond conventional musical borders. The band's Countdown 2 Meltdown is a sonic riot bursting with invention and mischief. This is evident from the first notes of “Coffee and Cones." Marcus' tenor and Sylvain Carton's alto drive this tune, with ...

332

Album Review

Mitch Marcus Quintet: Countdown 2 Meltdown

Read "Countdown 2 Meltdown" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
April 18, 2010

Caution: The music on Countdown 2 Meltdown is not for wimps or the squeamish. With his third quintet release, saxophonist Mitch Marcus and his exciting quintet continue to dish out bold and serious-minded progressive jazz amid a mark of distinction compared to many others of this ilk. After consummating a highly-praised ten-year residency in San Francisco, Marcus returned to his native New York City in 2009. Here, the quintet pulls out the proverbial stops, blasting into the cosmos via blazing ...

344

Album Review

Mitch Marcus Quintet: The Special

Read "The Special" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
July 16, 2007

This quintet gets out of the gate with a ballsy no-nonsense mode of operations. San Francisco Bay Area saxophonist Mitch Marcus helps steer the way for his ensemble's progressive-jazz/fuzoid attack with the agility and timeliness of a rapid-response unit. Not for the squeamish, the preponderance of these works consist of snaky dual-sax choruses and blitzing guitar unison runs atop pulsating rhythms. Electric guitarist Michael Abraham adds a significant edge here via his rangy, distortion-drenched licks as the band uses space ...

141

Album Review

Mitch Marcus Quintet: The Special

Read "The Special" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
July 10, 2007

On The Special, San Francisco Bay area's Mitch Marcus Quintet--two saxophones with a high octane, guitar-driven rhythm section--go with a fiery gusto for a post apocalyptic jazz mood, sounding like a bunch of young musical toughs surviving the hard way in a not-too-distant dystopian world, hard-asses with instruments stalking a dark, Clockwork Orange alley.For all the chip-on-the-shoulder mood--the searing guitar and booming bass--there's also an awful lot of finesse in this mix, the way Sylvain Carton's sizzling alto ...