
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paula Phillips, 443-702-7016
THE TODD MARCUS QUARTET
Wed. Jan. 28, 2015, 8:00p.m. and 10:00p.m.
BLUES ALLEY, 202-337-4141
1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington Dc 2007
Tickets $25. www.bluesalley.com
AWARD-WINNING AMERICAN-EGYPTIAN JAZZ BASS CLARINETIST
BRINGS MIDDLE EASTERN-FLAVORED JAZZ TO DC
Rising jazz star Todd Marcus appears at Blues Alley with a stellar quartet featuring jazz masters George Colligan on piano, Warren Wolf on drums, and Kris Funn on bass. The performance will include selections from Marcus’s “Blues for Tahrir Suite,” which will be featured in his upcoming release on Hipnotic Records. Inspired by the Arab Spring movement in Egypt, the work by this Egyptian American artist transcends genre boundaries, merging classical Middle Eastern harmonies and motifs with American jazz.
The Washington, D.C. program will feature plenty of straight ahead standards such a “Bye, Bye, Blackbird,” given a fresh new arrangement. The performance will also include originals such as the audience favorite, “Solstice” and debut several new compositions that prominently feature his unique use of the bass clarinet in jazz. One of those new originals includes “Note to Self.”
Since the early 2000s, Marcus has been winning accolades for his novel use of the bass clarinetist as well as for his unique compositions. His career includes international performances, clinics, and radio play, and he has worked with other jazz artists such as Bennie Maupin, Don Byron, Larry Willis, Odean Pope, Tim Warfield, Sean Jones, George Colligan, Orrin Evans, Joel Frahm, Xavier Davis, Mike Formanek, and Gary Thomas. Marcus was the 2014 winner of the $25,000 Baker Artist Award, and his last quartet album, Inheritance, released in 2012, was selected by NPR as one of the top 10 albums of the year. On it he led two separate bands, including the quartet to be heard at Blues Alley.
This quartet performance is the first to include pianist George Colligan, who recorded on the album Inheritance while he still lived in the D.C. area. Colligan now resides and teaches in Portland, Oregon, where he is a member of the Jack DeJohnnette’s New Quintet. Nate Chinen of the New York Times calls Colligan “a pianist of deep harmonic and rhythmic assurance” who “favors an earthy, assertive style, putting him in a lineage that includes McCoy Tyner, John Hicks and Mulgrew Miller.”
The rhythm section includes Baltimorean Warren Wolf on drums. Wolf is also a virtuoso on vibraphone and marimba who has performed throughout the D.C. region and abroadand whose own albums have received critical praise. Jazz Times reviewer Britt Robson writes, “Warren Wolf appears on a path to stardom as arguably the most exciting bop vibraphonist since Bobby Hutcherson.” He brings that same verve and virtuosity to the drums; he is currently the drummer of choice for alto saxophonist Tia Fuller, who tours with internationally-renowned pop star Beyoncé Knowles.
Like Marcus and Wolf, bassist Kris Funn is a Baltimore native who has made a name for himself far beyond the region. He has toured internationally with alto saxophonist Kenny Garret and traveled to major jazz festivals on six continents and performed with artists such as Bruce Williams, Nicholas Payton, Pharaoh Sanders, Jeff Majors, Jeff Lorber, and many others.
The quartet performs two shows, 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., at the famed Blues Alley jazz club, located in the heart of Georgetown at 1073 Wisconsin Ave NE, Washington DC 20007. This intimate venue with full dining service is a listening club featuring the finest of jazz performers from around the world. Tickets are $25; reserve in advance at www.bluesalley.com or call 202-337-4141.
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Contact: Paula Phillips, 443-702-7016
THE TODD MARCUS QUARTET
Wed. Jan. 28, 2015, 8:00p.m. and 10:00p.m.
BLUES ALLEY, 202-337-4141
1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington Dc 2007
Tickets $25. www.bluesalley.com
AWARD-WINNING AMERICAN-EGYPTIAN JAZZ BASS CLARINETIST
BRINGS MIDDLE EASTERN-FLAVORED JAZZ TO DC
Rising jazz star Todd Marcus appears at Blues Alley with a stellar quartet featuring jazz masters George Colligan on piano, Warren Wolf on drums, and Kris Funn on bass. The performance will include selections from Marcus’s “Blues for Tahrir Suite,” which will be featured in his upcoming release on Hipnotic Records. Inspired by the Arab Spring movement in Egypt, the work by this Egyptian American artist transcends genre boundaries, merging classical Middle Eastern harmonies and motifs with American jazz.
The Washington, D.C. program will feature plenty of straight ahead standards such a “Bye, Bye, Blackbird,” given a fresh new arrangement. The performance will also include originals such as the audience favorite, “Solstice” and debut several new compositions that prominently feature his unique use of the bass clarinet in jazz. One of those new originals includes “Note to Self.”
Since the early 2000s, Marcus has been winning accolades for his novel use of the bass clarinetist as well as for his unique compositions. His career includes international performances, clinics, and radio play, and he has worked with other jazz artists such as Bennie Maupin, Don Byron, Larry Willis, Odean Pope, Tim Warfield, Sean Jones, George Colligan, Orrin Evans, Joel Frahm, Xavier Davis, Mike Formanek, and Gary Thomas. Marcus was the 2014 winner of the $25,000 Baker Artist Award, and his last quartet album, Inheritance, released in 2012, was selected by NPR as one of the top 10 albums of the year. On it he led two separate bands, including the quartet to be heard at Blues Alley.
This quartet performance is the first to include pianist George Colligan, who recorded on the album Inheritance while he still lived in the D.C. area. Colligan now resides and teaches in Portland, Oregon, where he is a member of the Jack DeJohnnette’s New Quintet. Nate Chinen of the New York Times calls Colligan “a pianist of deep harmonic and rhythmic assurance” who “favors an earthy, assertive style, putting him in a lineage that includes McCoy Tyner, John Hicks and Mulgrew Miller.”
The rhythm section includes Baltimorean Warren Wolf on drums. Wolf is also a virtuoso on vibraphone and marimba who has performed throughout the D.C. region and abroadand whose own albums have received critical praise. Jazz Times reviewer Britt Robson writes, “Warren Wolf appears on a path to stardom as arguably the most exciting bop vibraphonist since Bobby Hutcherson.” He brings that same verve and virtuosity to the drums; he is currently the drummer of choice for alto saxophonist Tia Fuller, who tours with internationally-renowned pop star Beyoncé Knowles.
Like Marcus and Wolf, bassist Kris Funn is a Baltimore native who has made a name for himself far beyond the region. He has toured internationally with alto saxophonist Kenny Garret and traveled to major jazz festivals on six continents and performed with artists such as Bruce Williams, Nicholas Payton, Pharaoh Sanders, Jeff Majors, Jeff Lorber, and many others.
The quartet performs two shows, 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., at the famed Blues Alley jazz club, located in the heart of Georgetown at 1073 Wisconsin Ave NE, Washington DC 20007. This intimate venue with full dining service is a listening club featuring the finest of jazz performers from around the world. Tickets are $25; reserve in advance at www.bluesalley.com or call 202-337-4141.
Download PDF