Mitch Marcus Quintet

Dave Ellis, Dayna Stephens, Mitch Marcus: “Bay Area Sax Summit,” 8pm, Oct 30, Great American Music Hall. All three sax men rank among the best the Bay Area has to offer. What’s particularly exciting about this show, however, is that all bring something different to the table. Marcus might be the least well known of the bunch, but he’s this critic’s pick as the local guy we should all keep an eye on. - Jim Harrington, SF Chronicle

The holy grail for many jazz musicians is a working big band, a large ensemble with which they can explore colors, voicings and textures that can only be attained with an orchestra.

The daunting challenge is that since the end of World War II, big bands have been prohibitively expensive, particularly for musicians looking to explore new ideas rather than revisit the past as an exercise in nostalgia.

For Berkeley saxophonist Mitch Marcus, the quest for a big band was realized through a grant from the American Composers Forum, which allowed him to expand his quintet into an 18-piece ensemble bristling with some of the region’s most creative players. The group’s impressive premiere took place last November at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco’s Mission District, and Marcus has managed to keep the band working every couple of months ever since.

The Mitch Marcus Quintet + 13 Big Band makes its Yoshi’s debut on Wednesday, followed by the quintet’s run Sept. 2-3 at Jazz at Pearl’s, featuring Marcus’ longtime collaborator Sylvain Carton on alto sax, bassist George Ban-Weiss, guitarist Mike Abraham and the brilliant drummer Ches Smith.

“The big band is the most inspirational thing,” Marcus said during a recent conversation at a café in Albany. “We’re trying to break away from the traditional big-band format. Sometimes we think of it more in terms of classical orchestration. We can change up the traditional roles of the instruments, like having two bass players back up a bass clarinet solo, but by playing saxophone-type background figures instead of walking.”

Marcus traces the concept for the big band to his and Carton’s college days at Indiana University, where they played in the jazz orchestra led by revered educator and orchestrator David Baker. They both settled in the East Bay about 10 years ago, joining about a dozen Indiana U Grads who relocated to California with the band Japonize Elephants, a wacky ensemble with a carnival aesthetic that combined klezmer and circus music with jazz, bluegrass and tango.

While the big band plays one arrangement of a piece by Charles Mingus, it is mostly a laboratory for the musicians – primarily Marcus, Carton and Ches Smith. Some of the other players involved include Cornelius Boots on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet, Sheldon Brown on tenor sax, trumpeters Darren Johnston and Mike Olmos, guitarist John Schott and bassist David Ewell.

“Every one of these players reads really well, and you can get them to play anything you want,” Carton said. “It’s nice to be able to experiment with different instrumental pairings. In a classical setting, people are used to being told what to do, but with these guys you can say ‘Find your own way of doing it’ and trust their judgment. It brings life to the arrangements.”

Since musicians can’t live on inspiration alone, finding that holy grail of a working big band presents more challenges than it solves. Indeed, the ability to play in a variety of settings and a range of musical styles is essential for jazz musicians supporting themselves through music.

Marcus has gotten his widest exposure performing with 1960s pop icon Donovan, a gig for which he mostly plays keyboards. Donovan originally hired him for a series of shows at Café Du Nord, then thought the group worked so well that he ended up taking them on the road. There’s another tour planned for November, including a date at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre.

“He even has me singing on some pieces, which is interesting,” Marcus said. “He was getting into this jazz and poetry vibe, and I think he just expected to do these shows in San Francisco. We ended up having a lot of fun, and the next thing I knew he was calling us to do festivals, playing all his old pop tunes. You look out and see thousands of people and everybody knows the words to everything and is singing along.”

Marcus also leads a Wednesday night jam session at Amnesia in the Mission District, a popular hang for local jazz players. A recent evening drew rising stars such as saxophonist Dayna Stephens and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, both graduates of Berkeley High.

“Every week, you never know who’s going to be there,” Marcus said. “I try to go in with no preconceived notions. I’ve been changing up the house band, trying out new combinations of musicians, though it’s pretty much always me and guitarist Mike Abraham.”

Both Marcus and Carton also teach privately and write for dance companies, including the modern ballet troupe, Counterpointe, run by Marcus’ wife, Sarah Clagett-Marcus. Marcus also accompanies dance rehearsals, which gives him plenty of opportunity to work on his piano technique.

“It’s been a great day gig, just working on solo piano and playing with dancers,” he said. “I grew up playing classical piano and clarinet, so I play some classical pieces, but I also play plenty of jazz standards and I improvise, though I hope they won’t know I’m improvising. As long as it’s melodic and rhythmic in the left hand and they can move to it, it works.”
- Andrew Gilbert, Contra Costa Times

Mitch Marcus is a busy man. The Berkeley-based jazz saxophonist, who is also handy on the keyboards, performs in more ensembles than there are nights of the week. What’s really amazing, however, is the wide range of styles represented in those bands.
The Mitch Marcus list currently includes the Matt Small Chamber Ensemble (avant-garde/classical/funk), the Nathan Clevenger Group (jazz/country), Aphrodesia (Afro-beat) and the Japonize Elephants (klezmer/bluegrass/kitchen-sink). He also leads a jazz jam session every Wednesday at Amnesia in San Francisco, and is a member of Donovan’s touring band.
Yes, that Donovan, as in the guy who performs “Mellow Yellow,” a song that Marcus claims he never gets tired of playing. “Oh, man, I love it,” he says. “That’s the encore every night.”
When he’s not playing “Mellow Yellow,” leading the weekly jam session or honking the horn with one of the previously mentioned ensembles, the saxophonist-composer-arranger finds time to lead his own Mitch Marcus Quartet, which locals will have the chance to hear, in two very different settings, next month.
First up, the quartet – also featuring alto/soprano saxophonist Sylvain Carton, guitarist Mike Abraham, bassist George Ban-Weiss and new drummer Jeff Marrs (who also sets the beat for Marcus Shelby) – will do its regular thing during two sets at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square in Oakland on June 9.
If you want more than just five players on the bandstand, check out the Mitch Marcus Quintet Plus 13 on June 13 (aka Friday the 13th) at the Hillside Club in Berkeley. This 18-piece big band promises to deliver what Marcus calls “an attack of sounds”
MMQ followers might just get the chance to hear some new material at these shows. Marcus has a bunch of new original tunes, as well as new arrangements on old favorites, and he’s ready to take his quintet into the studio soon to knock out the next record.
Those who can’t make either the Yoshi’s or Hillside dates can still catch Marcus in concert, well, basically any night of the week. He’ll also perform the National Anthem prior to the New York Yankees-Oakland A’s game on June 10. To that, of course, I have to add: Go A’s!
- Jim Harrington, Oakland Tribune

Dave Ellis, Dayna Stephens, Mitch Marcus: “Bay Area Sax Summit,” 8pm, Oct 30, Great American Music Hall. All three sax men rank among the best the Bay Area has to offer. What’s particularly exciting about this show, however, is that all bring something different to the table. Marcus might be the least well known of the bunch, but he’s this critic’s pick as the local guy we should all keep an eye on. - Jim Harrington, SF Chronicle

You could tattoo the entire population of Black Rock City with the amount of ink that’s being spilled bloviating on the Music Business 2.0: Internet decentralizes distribution, so major record labels see sales fall and consolidate accordingly. But most of the press has focused on mainstream rock and pop. Less discussed is the effect this shift has had on the jazz world, an underground scene if ever there was one, and a genre that has seen already-slim record company support slashed even further.

The Special, the new release from local heroes the Mitch Marcus Quintet, is an interesting case study in the future of the jazz music business. It’s a searing document of progressive jazz that is exactly what major labels like Blue Note and Verve should be releasing instead of looking for the next Norah Jones. But the lack of corporate backing my not be such a bad thing. The Special is an independent record, which is exactly how it sounds – rough, uncompromising, and so juiced it practically blasts out of your speakers as soon as you hit play. The group – tenor saxophonist Marcus, alto saxophonist Sylvain Carton, guitarist Mike Abraham, bassist George Ban-Weiss, and drummer Ches Smith – emphasizes texture and open-ended song structures and steamrolls through genre boundaries. There are moments on “Last Mourning” and “G.C.” when the ensemble sounds closer to the art rock of King Crimson than to anything in the jazz lexicon. Right from the first solo - a screeching wash of distorted guitar noise and electronics, like Bill Frisell sitting in with Black Flag – notice is served that this is no stock jazz disc, and thankfully that vibe never lets up. While the record labels strategize their visions of the future, The Special is the latest alert that individual groups are also piloting new roads in music.
- Ezra Gale, SF Weekly

Mitch Marcus is one of those freak genius types. A virtuosic saxophonist and dynamic composer, he has a wide-open ear, a deep respect for jazz tradition, and a fearless creative spirit. - Sam Pestrianni, East Bay Express

“One of the Bay Area’s most riotously swinging young jazz groups, the quartet serves up post-bop with an array of jagged rhythms. But just when the sound becomes reckless, they connect the dots prilliantly.” – SF Chronicle

“...among the most provocative of Bay Area ensembles is [the MMQ], a quintet known for its discipline, range and willingness to defy time signatures and test harmonies.” – SF Chronicle

"[this] is exactly what major labels like Blue Note and Verve should be releasing instead of looking for the next Norah Jones." - SF Weekly

- Various