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1999, Marcus Shelby's interest in composing for jazz orchestra and
his work in collaboration with the Bay Area multidisciplinary arts
organization Intersection for the Arts led him to form the Marcus
Shelby Jazz Orchestra. The MSJO is comprised of some of the Bay
Areas most respected and sought after young musicians including
Rob Barics, Gabe Eaton, Darren Johnston and Danny Grewen. In the
last six years, Shelby has written an extensive series of original
compositions and suites as well as orchestrated a broad survey of
arrangements from great jazz big band composers Duke Ellington,
Billy Bass/Conductor:
Marcus Shelby Marc Bolin has performed with such organizations as the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestras, Carla Bley, the Virginia Beach Pops, Sheila E, Pete Escovedo, and the Ink Spots. Marc can be heard performing with the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orch, Oakland Opera, Realistic Orchestra, Avance, Paradigm Brass, Dream Kitchen, Joseph's Bones, Low-End Theory and the Mitch Marcus Quintet +13. In addition to
playing music, Marc is an experienced teacher and youth advocate
who has worked with multicultural youth from diverse backgrounds
at the elementary and high school levels in workshops and residencies
stretching from one day to 10 months. His work as an arts-educator
has included appointments throughout the Bay Area. He is also co-founder
of Toones, After- school Music Enrichment program www.music-enrichment.org.
Tom Griesser (baritone saxophone) became a jazz fan at age six after hearing his father's Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington records. He studied clarinet with Richard Joiner of the Denver Symphony Orchestra, and saxophone with Art Bouton during high school in Redlands, California. While earning a degree in political science at Stanford, he took saxophone lessons from Hal Stein. Since moving to San Francisco in 1990, Griesser has freelanced as a saxophonist and clarinetist with a variety of groups. From 1992 to 1995, he played tenor saxophone with St. Vitus Dance, a group heavily steeped in 1940's rhythm and blues, and from 1997 to 1999, he toured extensively with the neo-swing group The New Morty Show. In the mid-1990's, he co-led a jazz quintet, the Section 8 Project, that played original compositions as well as the music of Charles Mingus. Among others, Griesser has also performed with Atomic Cocktail, Groove Unit, J.C. Hopkins, the Mood Swing Orchestra, Graham Connah, Brass Monkey Brass Band, and his own trio, 3 Go T. He has been a member of the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra since 1999. His web site is www.tomgriesser.com.
Darren Johnston, originally from Ontario, Canada, has been living in the Bay Area since 1997. He has been fortunate enough to play a wide variety of styles, with a wide variety of inspiring musicians such as Fred Frith, Don Byron, Marcus Shelby, Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchesra, the ROVA Saxaphone Quartet, Ben Goldberg, Grahm Connah, Wolter Wierbos, Herbie Lewis, Scott Amendolla, and others. In the dance world Darren has collaborated with local companies such as Robert Moses's Kin, Kunst-Stoff, Rapt, Savage Jazz and the Oakland Ballet (both via the Marcus Shelby Orchesra), and for two years the all-improvised 14 Bells project, featuring local dancers as well as members of Ballet Frankfurt and the Dutch National Ballet. As a composer and band leader Darren runs the Darren Johnston Trio, Quintet, United Brassworkers Front, The Saint Jude Memorial Dance Band, the Empty Chamber Ensemble, and the Scenty-Gents.
Dave Scott graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor's Degree in Instrumental Music Education in 1987. from 1988-1990 he was Teaching Assistant to the Professor of Trumpet at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), and also to the Director of Jazz Studies. After completing his Master's Degree in Trumpet Performance from UNC, Dave joined and toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1992 as lead trumpet and featured soloist. Moving to the Bay Area in 1993, Dave worked to find his niche in the fabulous local jazz community. Dave has recorded and toured with Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, and currently plays trumpet and keyboards with Boz Scaggs. You can also find Dave playing lead trumpet every Monday night at Jazz at Pearl's in North Beach, and every Sunday morning playing in the Change Band at Glide Memorial Church.
Adam Shulman
has been a staple of the San Francisco Jazz
scene since he moved to the city in 2002. Before the move, Adam
was a student at UC Santa Cruz where he studied with the great Smith
Dobson and the trumpeter/arranger Ray Brown. He received his degree
in classical performance under the tutelage of the Russian pianist
Maria Ezerova. Currently, Adam plays regularly with Marcus Shelby
in large and small group contexts and with Anton Schwartz mostly
in a trio setting. He can also be seen as a sideman with countless
bay area musicians and vocalists such as John Wittala, Vince Lateano,
Kitty Margolis, Andrew Speight, Michelle Amador, Emmanuel Vaughn-Lee,
Ian Cary, and Mike Zilber. Adam has played as a sideman with internationally
renowned artists Stefon Harris and Willie Jones III and is often
called when a pianist is needed for out-of-town acts. |
