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Marshall Gilkes

Over the course of the past 20 years, Marshall Gilkes has established himself as one of the world’s preeminent trombonists. A nonpareil artist at the forefront of brass playing, his virtuosic command of the instrument, marked by a warm and enveloping tone, Herculean chops, astounding flexibility and awe-inspiring range, place him in a league of his own. 

With an incredible work ethic focused and shaped through his Juilliard training, Gilkes quickly became a force to be reckoned with, earning serious praise when he arrived on the scene near the dawn of the millennium. His debut leader date—2004’s Edenderry--was an instant head-turner, presenting ear-catching compositions showcasing dexterous slide work and an appreciation for high-level interplay. Released on the heels of his appearance as a finalist in the 2003 Thelonious Monk Institute International Trombone Competition, it served as a clear indicator of Gilkes’ emerging artistry. Broadening the scope of his imagination, he then looked toward the quintet format for 2008’s Lost Words and 2012’s Sound Stories. Underscoring Gilkes’ many and varied strengths on trombone, each of those releases also highlighted his work as a composer. But it was a pair of albums with 

 Germany’s WDR Big Band—an outgrowth of the trombonist’s four-year tenure with that ensemble (from 2010 to 2014)—that took things to the next level. 2015’s Köln, offering a 360-degree look at Gilkes as a writer, arranger, conductor and soloist, was a triumph of epic proportions, earning rave reviews and a pair of Grammy nominations. An equally impressive follow-up—2018’s Always Forward—served as a compelling companion piece, cementing his status as one of the great big band composers of the modern era.With Gilkes’ two most recent outings—2020’s Waiting to Continue and 2022’s Cyclic Journey—he furthered his unique musical outlook while fulfilling long-held ambitions of two very different sorts: The former, recorded when studios first reopened shortly after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, finds him at the height of his powers, leading a piano-less trio; and the latter, uniting an all-star brass octet with a blue-chip jazz combo to present an original suite built to represent daily life in all its grounding glory, speaks to a boundless artistry.

​Through those seven albums, Gilkes has carved out his place as a leader of note. And with his work as a first-call sideman, in parallel to those efforts, he’s demonstrated incomparable might and adaptability. Gilkes has made his mark performing and/or recording with bassist Carlos Henriquez, harpist Edmar Castañeda, the New York Philharmonic, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Slide Monsters, bassist Richard Bona, pianist Makoto Ozone and numerous other top-tier musicians and outfits.

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18
Album Review

Marshall Gilkes and WDR Big Band: Life Songs

Read "Life Songs" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Maryland-born trombonist Marshall Gilkes, who spends much of his time working in and around various jazz bases in North America, returns to his “second" home, Cologne, Germany, for Life Songs, his eighth album as leader and third with his former employer, Cologne's world-class WDR Big Band. Gilkes spent the years 2010-13 in the WDR trombone section, shortly before he and the ensemble released the widely praised albums Koln (Alternate Side, 2015) and Always Forward (Alternate Side, 2018). ...

1
Album Review

Michael Davis - Hip-Bone Big Band: Open City

Read "Open City" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Michael Davis is an accomplished trombonist who has had a long career of live and studio work accompanying a varied roster of big-name jazz and rock talents such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bob Mintzer, Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, and Sarah Vaughan. He is also an established solo artist and composer who leads an imposing large ensemble, the Hip-Bone Big Band. The big band's second album is an exuberant affair which reflects the joy of getting back ...

6
Liner Notes

Marshall Gilkes: Cyclic Journey

Read "Marshall Gilkes: Cyclic Journey" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Wonders never cease with Marshall Gilkes. Having previously reached extraordinary heights as a leader on a breakout quartet set, two standout quintet dates, a pair of essential releases with the WDR Big Band and one stunning trio album, this celebrated trombonist and composer now moves beyond known borders. Directing and fronting a sui generis assemblage merging a top-shelf rhythm combo with a brilliant brass ensemble, he uncovers and explores the conventions of his own cyclic journey. “I wrote the music ...

2
Radio & Podcasts

Marshall Gilkes, Trevor Dunn and Others

Read "Marshall Gilkes, Trevor Dunn and Others" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This show has an eclectic mix of jazz that encompasses swing, jazz-rock. jazz-folk, and the experimental. Musicians heard on the program include Marshall Gilkes, Trevor Dunn, Kurt Elling, Stuff Smith, and Nels Cline. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 The Fully Celebrated “Pearl's Blues (Your What Hurts?}" from Drunk on The Blood of The Holy Ones (AUM Fidelity) 00:54 ...

3
Album Review

Maria Schneider Orchestra: Data Lords

Read "Data Lords" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


C'è molto da dire sul nuovo album di Maria Schneider ma la prima e più importante considerazione riguarda la musica: sorprendente per ricchezza e novità di soluzioni, tensione narrativa e sintesi tra ricerca e tradizione. È uno dei suoi dischi più avvincenti e innovativi. L'incubazione del progetto è durata alcuni anni (il precedente The Thompson Fields è del 2015) e si lega alla presa di coscienza della bandleader sui pericoli connessi alla raccolta dei dati personali dalle società dell'universo digitale. ...

16
Album Review

Maria Schneider: Data Lords

Read "Data Lords" reviewed by Pat Youngspiel


Well someone doesn't seem too happy with the digital world. But that's nothing new for Maria Schneider. The Grammy-award winning composer and bandleader has been an outspoken critic of copyright abuses in the digital and streaming world of music for the biggest part of the last decade. On her newest effort, she sets her justified quarrels with the industry to music by juxtaposing the cold world of ones and zeroes, comprised on the first CD titled “The Digital World," in ...

7
Album Review

Maria Schneider Orchestra: Data Lords

Read "Data Lords" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Composer Maria Schneider has long been writing and speaking about the dangers of the omnipresent digital universe, intellectual property theft, gathering and manipulation of personal data by big tech companies, the unchecked proliferation of false and misleading material, and so on. Those concerns form the basis of her latest musical project, Data Lords, a 2 CD set examining the conflicting realities of the digital and real worlds. The two CDs are labeled “The Digital World" and “Our Natural ...

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3

Recording

WM Project releases debut From a Familiar Place featuring Jeremy Pelt, Marshall Gilkes and Rafal Sarnecki

WM Project releases debut From a Familiar Place featuring Jeremy Pelt, Marshall Gilkes and Rafal Sarnecki

Source: All About Jazz

WM Project has released their debut album From a Familiar Place on WM Records. While WM Project is a brand-new constellation, the musical masterminds behind it, pianist Andrzej Winnicki and tenor saxophonist Krzysztof Medyna, go back a long way. They have played together in the fusion group Electric Breakwater, and have furthered appreciation of Polish composer and pianist Krzysztof Komeda through their widely acclaimed Komeda Project. KP's Requiem, featuring bassist Scott Colley, drummer Nasheet Waits and trumpeter Russ Johnson, made ...

1

Recording

Trombonist/Composer Marshall Gilkes To Release Köln Featuring The WDR Big Band

Trombonist/Composer Marshall Gilkes To Release Köln Featuring The WDR Big Band

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

On February 10, 2015, trombonist/composer Marshall Gilkes proudly releases his fourth album as a leader, simply titled for the home base of The WDR Big Band, KÖLN. This set of stunning compositions marks Gilkes first recording fronting a big band, but he is no stranger to this setting, being a regular member of Maria Schneider's Grammy Award-winning orchestra, (Schneider describes him as, “one of those musicians who continually just drops my jaw and leaves me shaking my head in disbelief"), ...

54

Recording

Trombonist Marshall Gilkes Gives Orchestral Shape to Small Group Jazz

Trombonist Marshall Gilkes Gives Orchestral Shape to Small Group Jazz

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

Third CD Sound Stories Features Donny McCaslin, Adam Birnbaum, Yasushi Nakamura & Eric Dobb “Marshall Gilkes is the best trombonist to come into jazz in the new millennium." —Stereophile Magazine Trombonist-composer Marshall Gilkes makes a major statement on Sound Stories (March 6, Alternate Side Records). Working with a sympathetic, immensely talented quintet featuring saxophonist Donny McCaslin, pianist Adam Birnbaum, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Eric Doob, Gilkes takes his innovative composing and lyrical, hard-swinging soloing to new levels of excitement ...

Jim Lutz
trombone
Nate Petersen
trombone, bass

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Life Songs

Alternate Side Records
2024

buy

Open City

Self Produced
2023

buy

Cyclic Journey

Self Produced
2022

buy

Data Lords

ArtistShare
2020

buy

Always Forward

Alternate Side Records
2018

buy

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy feat. Jeremy Pelt

From: From a Familiar Place
By Marshall Gilkes

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