Marcus Shelby

To purchase Port Chicago or Harriet Tubman directly from MSJO please email Kate Dumbleton directly at : kate@marcusshelby.com

Marcus Shelby has recorded 6 CDs for Noir Records, MSJO's independently owned record label based in San Francisco. These records include Un Faux Pas!, The Sophisticate, Midtown Sunset, The Lights Suite, Port Chicago, and his latest release Harriet
Tubman.

Samples:

From the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra: "Harriet Tubman"
The following samples are from Harriet Tubman. More information about this CD can be found on the commissions page.

From the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra: "Port Chicago"
The following samples are from Port Chicago. More information about this CD can be found on the Port Chicago page.

Track 1: Introduction
Track 2: Training Day
Track 3: Mechanized Women
Track 4: Black in Blue
Track 5: Work Routine 2
Track 6: Sweet Brownness

MARCUS SHELBY JAZZ ORCHESTRA "ELLA"

The following music samples are from the ballet "Ella" which was composed by Marcus Shelby, performed by the MSJO and commissioned by the Oakland Ballet. This work was premiered in October 2005. More information about "Ella" can be found on this page.

Track 1: A Tisket, A Tasket
Track 2: Lullaby of Birdland
Track 3: Begin the Beguine
Track 4: In my Solitude

MARCUS SHELBY JAZZ ORCHESTRA "The Lights Suite" Live at The Intersection for the Arts

Listen to the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra perform excerpts of Shelby¼s The Light Suite live at the Intersection for the Arts. This concert was recorded on May 7, 2002.

Track 1: Transition-The Lights
Track 2: Afro Mission
Track 3: Next Time

"MALADAPTIVE" FILM SCORE BY MARCUS SHELBY PERFORMED BY THE MARCUS SHELBY JAZZ ORCHESTRA

The following music samples are from Marcus Shelby¼s film score for the film Maladaptive. The music was performed by the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra.

Track 1: Opening Credits
Track 2: I'm in Love
Track 3: Can't You See I'm Busy
Track 4: Infidelity
Track 5: Mad About My Baby vocal
Track 6: Mad About My Baby vocal 1940s version
Track 7: Living Room
Track 8: Will You Marry Me?
Track 9: You Need Me

Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra Live at The Intersection for the Arts
"Lone Anthem"
Composed by Gabe Eaton

Lead Alto player Gabe Eaton has written a beautiful composition for the MSJO called "Lone Anthem". Gabe is an original member of MSJO dating back to 1998. He and Marcus Shelby have been musical colleagues and friends since 1990 when they both lived in Los Angeles. The following is a music sample of his composition, which was recorded live at The Intersection for the Arts on May 7, 2002.

Track 1: Lone Anthem

MSJO LIVE AT THE YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
"BROWN DREAMS"
YOUTH SPEAKS LIVING WORD FESTIVAL 2003

Brown Dreams was composed by Marcus Shelby during the Summer of 2003. He received a commission from the organization Youth Speaks to compose a tone poem to the work of writer Paul Flores who wrote the libretto to Brown Dreams. This composition premiered on October 5, 2003 live at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and was performed by the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra featuring Paul Flores in spoken word. The following music sample is an excerpt from the premiere performance at Yerba Buena.

Track 1: Brown Dreams

"MIDTOWN SUNSET"
COMPOSED BY MARCUS SHELBY
TONE POEM FOR JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Midtown Sunset was composed for quintet and actor in 1993 for the Jazzantiqua Music and Dance Ensemble. In 2004, Marcus Shelby received a commission from San Francisco Performances to re-orchestrate Midtown Sunset for jazz orchestra for a presentation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. This composition pays tribute to the work of painter Romare Beardon and writer Langston Hughes. Midtown Sunset is a musical collage organized much in the same way Beardon would create his paintings using the essence of African American life as the central theme integrated with a backdrop of colorful and rhythmic diversity. The following music sample is the part 6 of Midtown Sunset and is called "Background for Ivy".

Track 1: Background for Ivy

MSJO LIVE AT YOSHIS DECEMBER 2, 2002

The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra often performs at the world famous jazz club Yoshis which is located in Oakland, Ca across the bridge from San Francisco. The MSJO will have their CD release party for "Port Chicago" at Yoshis on February 21 and 22, 2006. The following music sample was recorded live at Yoshis on December 2, 2002 and is called "Dance of the Mission Babies". This composition comes from Shelby's "The Lights Suite".

Track 1: Dance of the Mission Babies