Bicoastal since his move to New York in 2009, Mitch Marcus has had a high profile on the fertile San Francisco Bay Area jazz scene for years as an aggressive, tuneful saxophonist and daring composer. Featuring Marcus' longtime musical partner, alto saxophonist Sylvain Carton, the Mitch Marcus Quintet has poured out edgy, intricate, compelling jazz music without letup. For the last several years, the band has featured the irrepressible swing of bassist George Ban-Weiss, drummer Tomas Fujiwara and, crucially, guitarist Mike Abraham. Using a fleet-fingered guitar where a normal jazz quintet might have a piano has made a major impact on the bands sound. Many of Marcus compositions feature 3-part melodies that Abraham plays as if written for sax; the resulting stew is something like the Jazz Messengers tearing through a late night set at CBGBs. An exceptionally versatile player, Marcus has performed and recorded with an array of ensembles across an eclectic range of musical styles and intriguing hybrids- from the klezmer-bluegrass of the Japonize Elephants to the modern afrobeat of Aphrodesia. He is a long-standing member of bassist Matt Smalls Chamber Ensemble, a group with which Marcus performed both at Carnegie Hall and at Lincoln Center. A fearsomely talented keyboardist in addition to saxophone, he's also a member of rock icon Donovan's touring band- rocking out on "Mellow Yellow" to packed houses every night on the road. All the seemingly disparate influences lead to an omnivorous musical world- one that seeps into his own music and creates an informed and highly original sound. As a piano accompanist, I worked with Oakland Ballet for 5 years, Berkeley Ballet Theatre for 10 years, currently work with mark Morris Dance Group, Alvin Ailey, and Ballet Tech.
