Home » Jazz Musicians » Marcus Shelby

Marcus Shelby

Marcus Shelby is a composer, arranger, band leader, bassist, and educator who currently lives in San Francisco, California. His work focuses on the history, present, and future of African American lives, social movements, and music education. In 1990, Marcus Shelby received the Charles Mingus Scholarship to attend Cal Arts and study composition with James Newton and bass with Charlie Haden. Currently, Shelby is an artist in residence with the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival and a new resident artist director for the San Francisco Jazz Festival 2019-2020. Shelby is also an artist in residence at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival where he is the music director of the 100 member Freedom Jazz Choir, youth choir, and youth music ensemble. Shelby has composed several oratorios and suites including “Harriet Tubman”, “Beyond the Blues: A Prison Oratorio”, “Soul of the Movement: Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”, “Black Ball: The Negro Leagues and the Blues”, “Green and Blues”, and a children’s opera “Harriet’s Spirit” produced by Opera Parallel 2018. Shelby also composed the score and performed in Anna Deveare’s off Broadway Play and HBO feature film “Notes from the Field” and has also worked on a range of productions, such as Joanna Haigood’s “Dying While Black and Brown” (2014), Margo Hall’s “Bebop Baby” (2013) and “Sonny’s Blues” (2008), the Oakland Ballet’s “Ella” The SF Girls Choir (2013), The Oakland Youth Chorus (2014), and many other productions over the past 21 years. Shelby has served on the San Francisco Arts Commission since 2013.

In 1999, Marcus Shelby's interest in composing for big band orchestra and his work in collaboration with the Bay Area multidisciplinary arts organization Intersection for the Arts led him to form the Marcus Shelby Orchestra. The Marcus Shelby Orchestra is comprised of some of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most respected musicians including vocalists Faye Carol and Kenny Washington, and several well-known instrumentalists over the years such as Howard Wiley (tenor/soprano), Rob Barics (tenor/clarinet), Patrick Wolff (tenor/clarinet), Dayna Stephens (tenor), Sheldon Brown (tenor/clarinet), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Mike Olmos (trumpet), Adam Shulman (piano), Matt Clark (piano), Mitch Butler (trombone), Doug Beavers (trombone), and Joel Behrman (trombone). In the last 15 years, Shelby has written an extensive series of original compositions and suites as well as orchestrated a broad survey of arrangements from the great composers Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Shelby has been awarded two residencies with Intersection for the Arts through Theater Communications Group and Meet the Composer and in 2000 was awarded the Creative Work Fund grant to compose for the Marcus Shelby Orchestra. The project resulted in the a theater production of Howard Korder’s play called “The Lights” and featured the Marcus Shelby Orchestra performing the original music live. In 2002, Shelby was commissioned by the Equal Justice Society to composer a suite for jazz orchestra in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Port Chicago Mutiny. In 2005, Marcus received the Creative Work Fund grant to compose an oratorio for big band orchestra, which honored the life and history of Harriet Tubman. In 2009, Shelby received the Black Metropolis Research Consortium Fellowship in Chicago to conduct research at the University of Chicago and the Columbia Black Music Research Center for his project investigating the music in the civil rights movement. This research was in preparation for the Marcus Shelby Orchestra’s 4th CD release on January 15, 2011 titled “Soul of the Movement”. This CD received critical acclaim and reached #2 on National Jazz Radio Charts (February 2011). In 2011, Marcus Shelby received a Gerbode Award and was commissioned to compose an original musical with Bay Area director, writer, and actress Margo Hall called “Bebob Baby” which premiered in November 2013. This production featured the Marcus Shelby Orchestra, which performed the score live at The Z Space in San Francisco. In 2013 the Marcus Shelby Orchestra also performed the live score to “Gwah Guy: Crossing the Street” by artist and writer Flo Oy Wong and Marcus Shelby at the ODC Theater in San Francisco. In addition to developing commissioned works, the orchestra currently performs at Bay Area clubs, universities, high schools, elementary schools, churches, festivals, and concert venues.

Read more

Tags

34
Album Review

Darrell Grant's MJ New: Our Mr. Jackson

Read "Our Mr. Jackson" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Anyone missing the artistry and elegance of the Modern Jazz Quartet will warm quickly to pianist Darrell Grant's MJ New, which pays homage to the great vibraphonist Milt Jackson and, through him, the legendary MJQ, on Our Mr. Jackson. The instrumentation is the same as the MJQ, with Mike Horsfall sitting in for Jackson on vibraphone and Grant for pianist John Lewis. Bassist Marcus Shelby (think Percy Heath) and drummer Carlton Jackson (Kenny Clarke, Connie Kay) round out the quartet. ...

1
Album Review

Bill Ortiz: Points of View

Read "Points of View" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


Long associated with Carlos Santana, with whom he had a 16-year stint, trumpeter Bill Ortiz steps into the spotlight here with an auspicious and highly entertaining session. Ten selections showcase Ortiz who is supported by some of the Bay area's best. The order of the day is energy, excitement, and an overall superb show. “Sunburst," an Eddie Henderson tune, launches things with a pulsing piano, driving bass, textured rhythms and Ortiz wailing, first using a Harmon mute ...

1
Radio & Podcasts

Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock & More

Read "Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock & More" reviewed by Joe Dimino


Straight outta San Francisco with his talented orchestra, Marcus Shelby opens this week's episode with music off his latest CD Transitions. We then move into the reason Marcus got into jazz and that would be the New Orleans titan Wynton Marsalis. The hour continues with Bonerama covering Led Zeppelin, Frank Grasso, Dennis Coffee and Etienne Charles. In between those jazz lines, we profile the lives of Kalya Ramu and Yoko Miwa. We finish it all up with the talent of ...

2
Album Review

Marcus Shelby: Transitions

Read "Transitions" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Considering ambition and musical vision, bassist/bandleader Marcus Shelby has a single peer: Wynton Marsalis. Both men have a healthy reverence for the past and big imaginations for large-scale works. Shelby is struck by history, much of which he incorporates into this larger works like Soul of the Movement: Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011) and Beyond the Blues: A Prison Oratorio (2015). On Transitions, Shelby wanted to present something akin to his live performances with his big band. ...

4
Album Review

Marcus Shelby Orchestra: Transitions

Read "Transitions" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Although it is not alluded to anywhere, the centerpiece of San Francisco-based composer / bassist Marcus Shelby's latest big-band album, Transitions, is the evocative four-movement suite “Black Ball: The Negro Leagues and the Blues," which pays tribute to the all-black enterprises whose shining stars were barred from displaying their talents in the major baseball leagues until the great Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and opened the floodgates in 1947. Shelby's picturesque charts, which traverse the ...

346
Album Review

Marcus Shelby Orchestra: Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read "Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." reviewed by Edward Blanco


A man with a deep social conscience and a fervent interest in social history, San Francisco bassist and band leader Marcus Shelby has previously used music to illuminate past injustices on Port Chicago (Noir Records, 2006), and then again with Harriet Tubman (Noir Records, 2008). On Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Shelby once again tackles another large-scale project of social and spiritual significance expressed through his creative musical interpretations.For Shelby, the inspiration ...

199
Album Review

Marcus Shelby Orchestra: Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read "Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." reviewed by Bruce Lindsay


Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr is a beautiful album. Bassist, composer and arranger Marcus Shelby was inspired to put the album together by his study of the Civil Rights Movement and, in the combining of his own original compositions with spirituals and tunes associated with the movement, he has created a most affecting and uplifting recording, performed with passion by the superb 15-piece Marcus Shelby Orchestra. Shelby's own compositions take their ...

Read more articles
1

Recording

Marcus Shelby Places Suite Exploring Negro League Baseball At The Heart Of "Transitions," Set For June 7 Release By MSO Records

Marcus Shelby Places Suite Exploring Negro League Baseball At The Heart Of "Transitions," Set For June 7 Release By MSO Records

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

Bassist, composer, and bandleader Marcus Shelby brings together three of his greatest passions—African-American history, baseball, and big-band jazz—on Transitions, the latest work by his 15-piece Marcus Shelby Orchestra, set for a June 7 release on his own MSO Records. While the album offers Shelby’s lush arrangements of classic tunes by Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Cole Porter, its centerpiece “Black Ball: The Negro Leagues and the Blues” is an original four-part suite inspired by the history of Negro League Baseball. ...

43

Interview

Marcus Shelby: Musician/Composer/Bandleader on a Mission

Marcus Shelby: Musician/Composer/Bandleader on a Mission

Source: The Independent Ear by Willard Jenkins

Bassist-composer Marcus Shelby is most definitely a man on a mission, and a man more intent on engaging serious subjects in his music than dazzling his audience with aimless instrumental technique. For his previous release his orchestra navigated his original score in tribute to the great emancipator Harriet Tubman. His latest effort is Soul of the Movement, subtitled Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Porto Fino label. This time out the Bay Area-based Marcus Shelby Orchestra explores ...

62

Video / DVD

Marcus Shelby Pays Tribute to Dr. King on April 4

Marcus Shelby Pays Tribute to Dr. King on April 4

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

April 4, 1968 is a tragic day in our country's history. It marks the day that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN. Bassist/composer Marcus Shelby, whose family is from Memphis, TN, pays tribute to Dr. King on April 4 with 4 new videos featuring music from Shelby's widely acclaimed CD “Soul of the Movement: Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." This is a very personal project for Shelby, who had several family members in the ...

54

Video / DVD

Marcus Shelby's "Soul of the Movement" - New Video Now Available

Marcus Shelby's "Soul of the Movement" - New Video Now Available

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

Check out the new video of the Marcus Shelby Orchestra live in concert, presenting snippets of an electrifying performance at Yoshi's in San Francisco, CA. It features the music of Shelby's acclaimed project, “Soul of the Movement: Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." For Marcus Shelby, history breathes music. Over the past decade, the San Francisco bassist/composer has created a series of captivating large-scale works that illuminate the accomplishments, spiritual fortitude and tribulations of African-Americans. In his debut recording ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Points of View

Left Angle Productions
2023

buy

Our Mr. Jackson

Lair Hill Records
2023

buy

Transitions

Self Produced
2019

buy

Soul Of The Movement:...

Porto Franco Records
2011

buy

Soul Of The Movement:...

Porto Franco Records
2010

buy

Harriet Tubman

Noir Records
2008

buy

Similar

Dave Liebman
saxophone, soprano
Acoustic Ladyland
band / ensemble / orchestra
Leroy Vinnegar
bass, acoustic
Headhunters
band / ensemble / orchestra

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.