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Mitch Marcus

Mitch Marcus founded the Mitch Marcus Quintet in 1999. From post-apocalyptic jazz to scintillating trance hypnotism, the Mitch Marcus Quintet delivers a unique brand of original music, taking you through a labyrinth of ever-shifting textures. Comprised of some of the New and SF Bay Area's finest musicians, this dynamic collective features the extended compositions of saxophonists Marcus and Sylvain Carton, as well as the rumbling opuses of drummer Ches Smith. The members of the Quintet also play in a diverse array of Bay Area bands, such as Donovan, Stanley, Trevor Dunn's Convulsant Trio, Good for Cows, Japonize Elephants, Realistic Orchestra, and Shotgun Wedding.  West Coast members include Mike Abraham on Guitar and Jeff Marrs on Drums and our dear friend George Ban-Weiss on bass who recently passed on.  East Coast members include Jeff Miles on Gutiar, Jerad Lippi on Drums, Evan Francis on Alto Sax and Flute, and Peter Brendler Bass.

Mitch is an accomplished Tenor Saxophonist and Pianist/Keyboardist, as well as Clarinetist/Flautist.  He can be seen all over the New York Tri-State Area and beyond playing in various Jazz Groups as well as on the Jam Band scene and New Music Classical as well.  He accompanies on piano for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

 

The Invaders Trio is group led by Mitch also featuring Leon Boykins on Bass and Brian Fishler on Drums as well as Mitch on Piano.  They pull from a repertoire written mostly by Mitch but also fun arrangements that range from Willie Nelson, Grateful Dead, to Steely Dan, Frank Zappa and Charles Mingus!  

 

Gear

Mitch and Sylvain proudly endorse Vandoren Mouthpieces, Ligatures, and Reeds

Mitch plays a V16 T-10 with V16 #3 reeds on tenor saxophone, M30 on clarinet with V12 3 reeds, and B9 mouthpiece on Baritone Sax.  

 


Tags

228
Album Review

Mitch Marcus: Countdown 2 Meltdown

Read "Countdown 2 Meltdown" reviewed by Terrell Kent Holmes


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


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 ...

343
Album Review

Mitch Marcus Quintet: The Special

Read "The Special" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


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 ...

140
Album Review

Mitch Marcus Quintet: The Special

Read "The Special" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


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 ...

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164

Recording

Mitch Marcus Quintet, "Countdown 2 Meltdown," 2010

Mitch Marcus Quintet, "Countdown 2 Meltdown," 2010

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards

The West Coast is alive for music. It's not a West Coast jazz in a cool sense for the most part these days. It's something else. San Franciscan (but also New Yorkian) Mitch Marcus and his quintet show us some of that in the riotcap avant romp Countdown 2 Meltdown (Porto Franco 009). It's notable for the presence of the very nimble electric guitarist Mike Abraham, the two-reed threat of Mitch (tenor) and Sylvian Carton (alto), and the very lively ...

114

Recording

New CD by Mitch Marcus Quintet Due from Porto Franco Records Feb. 16

New CD by Mitch Marcus Quintet Due from Porto Franco Records Feb. 16

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

During its ten-year San Francisco residency, the Mitch Marcus Quintet developed an edgy, innovative sound that attracted crowds as well as critical raves. The San Francisco Chronicle called the quintet “among the most provocative of Bay Area ensembles," and in 2007 the readers of SF Weekly voted them the city's Best Jazz Band. By the time tenor saxophonist/composer Marcus moved back to his native New York in the summer of 2009, the band had already recorded their third album, Countdown ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Countdown 2 Meltdown

Porto Franco Records
2010

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The Special

Jazzcubed
2007

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