Born: September 13, 1978 Primary Instrument: Vocal
When Marcus was growing up, every night after dinner his mother would call him over to the piano to teach him a new song. She had no great plan to train him professionally, she only wanted him to know this music and have it a part of his life. She would always say, “This is a great one for you to know.”
At age 14, he quickly realized that this was not a common practice in the homes of his friends. So needless to say, he listened to a wide range of music that included Robert Smith, Jim Morrison, Sarah Vaughn, Elton John, Claude Debussy, Eddie Vedder, and Chet Baker, but at night he'd always go right back to the piano with his mom after dinner; quite the balance for a suburban kid in Buffalo, NY.
This was not a chore, but rather a treat--a chance to get another piece of a genre in which he always wished he’d been born. Instead, born in 1978, Marcus fell in love with this music through the influence of his grandparents, Ernest and Martha Blaustein and, of course, through these after dinner sessions with his mom. When his grandparents were alive, these two were grace, class and chivalry incarnate and to Marcus, this was all written and brought to life in the music of their time.
Today, at 27 years of age, he is right at home in this genre interpreting the songs of Dorothy Fields, Sammy Cahn, Harold Arlen, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Fain, and so many others. Marcus is a perfect blend of yesterday and today. With a modern approach that stays true to the style of this music, he hopes to help bring these great tunes back so that young people can grow up knowing this music as he did and then pass it on to their children, maybe after dinner at the piano.
