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JUSTIN MARCUS
Ask Me How Do I Feel . . .
Introducing the full length CD entitled Ask Me How Do I Feel . . . performed by Justin Marcus. since his first release entitled Come Round to Me, Justin has repositioned his distinctive manner and phrasing. He has crossed over to a stylized American Songbook featuring some of the classics such as, Let’s Get Away From It All, If I Were A Bell, Embraceable You . . . to this generation’s classics -- like, Bruce Springsteen’s Meeting Across the River and Paul Simon’s America . . .. and others.
The material on Ask Me How Do I Feel . . . has been well tested and is extensively proven time and time again. Justin’s technique and novel phrasing add a fresh dimension to the legendary tunes on the CD. For this reason, Justin has been able to pull together an all-star band who have recorded and/or performed with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Cassandra Wilson; Bruce Springsteen; the Rolling Stones; Bob Dylan; and U2; to name a few.
To quote Michael Lydon, the well known musicologist, one of the original founders of Rolling Stone Magazine and author of the book Ray Charles: Man And Music:
“. . . What you’ve got in your hands is good music: a dozen witty, soulful songs chosen with care from the American songbook, well arranged, well played, and superbly sung by Justin Marcus, a warm baritone who digs down through retro gloss to timeless modernity.”
Audiences all over the country are requesting Justin Marcus’s renditions of the tunes on the CD Ask Me How Do I feel . . . the infectious tunes will “play in your head” all day long.
ASK ME HOW DO I FEEL
JUSTIN MARCUS
- Redwood Entertainment
June 7, 2007
Justin Marcus—Self Produced (2007)
Ask Me How Do I Feel
By C. Michael Bailey
Justin Marcus will not be the next Michael Bublé and that is a damn good thing. Marcus is a refreshingly non-vocalist vocalist. His voice is no Sinatra knock-off, nor does it fall into the Tony DeSare-Peter Cincotti mold, though with these and Harry Connick, Marcus shares movie-star looks. Marcus has a singularly masculine voice with just enough wild in it to make it interesting.
On first listen, I would have placed Marcus’ birth place below the cotton curtain by his relaxed yet assertive phrasing (think Harry Connick on steroids without the New Orleans brogue) had his almost accent-less diction not thrown me off, as he is a New York City native. As it is I was not too far from the truth as Marcus attended college in New Orleans and certainly was exposed to that fertile music scene.
Marcus’ first recording, a self-produced effort titled from a line in Frank Loesser’s neglected “If I Were a Bell,” is a mixture of the old and new as the singer/pianist deftly mixes into solutions songs as different as Louis Jordan’s “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Meeting Across the River.” His nod to Sinatra (in name only) with “Lady is a Tramp” and “Embraceable You” shows how intentionally Marcus sets himself apart from the current population of male jazz vocalists. Marcus is backed by a competent band that never gets in his way. Marcus is an excellent pianist, completely capable of accompanying himself as he proves on Paul Simon’s “America.”
Justin Marcus is the most interesting vocalist to emerge into jazz in recent memory. He is a New York City product infused with the South like bourbon with mint in a julep. His introductory repertoire is carefully and thoughtfully chosen and superbly performed.
- All About Jazz Magazine
Discography
Ask Me How I Feel-Full Length CD Release
If I Were A Bell-Current Single Release
Photos
Bio
Justin Marcus is a performer who is gracing the music industry with a singing style that hits all of the musical notes and fills our hearts with the love that he puts into his songs. It is his voice and his phrasings that are invigorating the music industry hits that have helped to shape American music.
Currently, Justin is in the process of releasing his latest album-length CD, Ask Me How Do I Feel . . . which is a rich collection of tunes right out of the American Songbook. Justin has cleverly chosen a few contemporary songs that he adds to the repertoire on the CD. The result is an enhancement that will once again brighten the American Songbook From some of the classics such as, Let’s Get Away From It All, If I Were A Bell, Embraceable You . . . to modern day classics to be -- like, Springsteen’s Meeting Across the River and Paul Simon’s America . . . Justin Marcus is emerging in the International Music World like a lightning bolt that illuminates a silhouetted night skyline.
Justin Marcus is no newcomer to musical performance. Since his early years he has been an avid student of various musical genres, instruments and his own voice. His musical background stretches across many styles and he has performed all around the United States in nightclubs and halls. With a crossover style that most artists try to achieve, Justin’s rich sound and dynamic performance is driving the next American musical breakthrough. Watch out, because Ask Me How Do I Feel . . . will soon be vibrating the airwaves all over the world.
Backed by top players who have performed with Wynton Marsalis, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Cassandra Wilson; Bruce Springsteen; the Rolling Stones; Bob Dylan; and U2; to name but a few – Justin has assembled an all-star group of musicians to accompany, back, complement and punctuate every note that he sings.
Watch out for Justin Marcus. The response to his upcoming CD release, Ask Me How Do I feel . . . is a hot pick around the globe, and the momentum is growing.
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