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Tier 2 · legacy legend
Michael Marcus
Person · male · United States · San Francisco · born 1952 · recording since 1997
American musician
official homepageofficial homepageticketsdatabasedatabasedatabase
Also known as Майкл Маркус
Timeline
9 events▣ Album 7◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1950s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: This Happening
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography363 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1362475948
Biography
Michael Marcus (August 25, 1952) Is an American Jazz multi-woodwind player & composer. He plays saxophones, clarinets, flutes, taragatos and octavins.
In 1991 Enja released Under the Wire, his debut album as a leader. He has worked & recorded with artists including: Albert King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Frank Lowe, Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Jaki Byard, Rahn Burton, Vince Wallace, Fred Hopkins, Denis Charles, Jay Rosen, Tarus Mateen, Joe Bowie, Perry Robinson, Warren Smith and Edgar Bateman to name a few.
Marcus and Ted Daniel comprise Duology, which has collaborated with Andrew Cyrille and Henry Grimes. With Sonny Simmons, he is the co-leader of The Cosmosamatics.
Michael was rewarded an individual performance grant from the NEA (National Endowment of the Arts)-composing for a string quartet in conjunction with his original music.
As leader
Under the Wire w/ Joe Bowie, William Parker [Enja Records], 1990
Here At! (Soul Note Records), 1993
Ithem (Ayler Records) 1994
Reachin' (Justin Time Records), 1996
This Happening (Justin Time) 1997 w Jaki Byard
Involution (Justin Time, 1998) w/ Jaki Byard Trio
Live in N.Y. (Soul Note, 1999)
In the Center of it All (Justin Time) 2000
Sunwheels (Justin Time) 2001
Blue Reality (Soul Note) 2002
Speakin Out (Drimala) 2002
Soulifications (Soul Note) 2005
The Magic Door (Not Two) 2007
Lotus Symphony (Not Two) 2008
For Yes! (Not Two) 2010
Elements in Candor (For Tune) 2016 w/ Theo Jorgensmann
Stone Jump (Not Two), 2021
Abstractions in Lime Caverns (ESP-Disk'), 2022
Next Stop Down (ESP-Disk), 2026
'"The Cosmosamatics" w/ Sonny Simmons'
The Cosmosamatics (Boxholder, 2001)
The Cosmosamatics II (Boxholder, 2002)
Live at Banlieues w/ Andrew Cyrille (Bleu Regard, 2003)
Three (Boxholder, 2004)
Reeds & Birds (Not Two, 2004)
Magnitudes (Soul Note, 2005)
Zetrons (Not Two, 2005)
Free within the Law (Not Two, 2008)
Jazz-Maalika (Saptak, 2013)
"Duology" w/ Ted Daniel
Duology ( Boxholder) 2007
Golden Atoms ( Soul Note ) 2008
Duology w/ Andrew Cyrille (Jazz Werkstatt ) 2011
Duology w/ Henry Grimes ( Ujjama ) 2019
The Saxemble w/ Frank Lowe, James Carter, Cassius Richmond, Cindy Blackman (Qwest/Warner)
N.Y. Clarinet Society w/ Perry Robinson (FSR Records)
Blue Reality Quartet w/ Joe McPhee'-Warren Smith-Jay Rosen (Mahakala) 2021
Blue Reality Quartet Ella's Island (Mahakala) 2022
'
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 6 | 38.9th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 9 | 81.7th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 9 | 85.5th |
| Recording span (years) | 24 | 53.9th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (9 release groups · 8 studio albums)
Albums · 8
1997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 49:16
1Earth Beings / 3=45:582This Happening6:053Kelso Tracks South4:004Giant Steps / Naima6:275Steppin' Down With Jaki6:506The Cry for Peace5:327The Continuum4:298Kelso Tracks North3:149Darn That Dream6:411998 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 52:56
1Israel5:462Quadraphonics7:433The Legend of Hale-Bopp6:094Soultrane7:475Man From Lovejoy4:196Off Minor4:557Sacred Law4:338Dear Lord4:409Surfer Girl2:3010Involution4:342000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 53:19
1Blue Halo8:502Serene3:353Message From Marcus6:574Involution5:225Thematic Collisions12:056'round Midnight8:067Message From Marcus (Solo)3:488Blue Halo / Glittering Twilights4:362002 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 6 tracks · 1:02:32
1Fusionanatomy13:302Daughter of Isis9:053Echoes of Eric Dolphy11:314Queen Bee8:535Rio Bahia6:206Cosmic Curtis13:132002 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 51:18
1New Earth (For Jimmy Giuffre)2:572Zone Tones9:093Journey in Cardamon8:304Beyond Our Horizon1:095Speakin'' Out6:026Zebra Finch6:517Cornfeed2:148Saxitivity8:049Quasar4:3310Next Earth1:492019 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 43:53
A1Reconciliation7:42A2Spiral Landscapes8:23A3Qusim5:52B1Reparations3:56B2Sonic Corridors7:02B3In Reference To6:21B4Truth Telling4:372021 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 40:29
1Love Exists Everywhere6:442Chartreuse Tulips3:213Joe’s Train4:344Coney Island Funk5:415Bluer Than Blue4:406East Side Dilemma8:507Warren’s Theme6:39— · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 54:25
1Eternal All8:422The Zenith4:393Pinball4:364Golden Memory5:165Sunwheels8:416Moonvoices2:407Midtown Sojourn5:098Psychic Circles0:559Celestial Origins5:3810We Are, Now8:09
Single · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Now’s the Time / Fire on the Fifth FloorSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracksANow’s the Time BFire on the Fifth Floor | 2014 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Michael Marcus head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 6 | 38.9th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 9 | 81.7th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 9 | 85.5th |
| Recording span (years) | 24 | 53.9th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cosmosamatics(band) | — | present | clarinet,original |
| Frank Lowe & The Saxemple(band) | — | present | reeds |
| Frank Lowe & The Saxemple(band) | — | present | soprano saxophone |
| Frank Lowe & The Saxemple(band) | — | present | baritone saxophone |
| Frank Lowe & The Saxemple(band) | — | present | bass saxophone |
| Michael Marcus Trio(band) | — | present | clarinet,eponymous,original |
| Michael Marcus Trio(band) | — | present | bass clarinet,eponymous,original |
| Michael Marcus Trio(band) | — | present | alto saxophone,eponymous,original |
| Michael Marcus Trio(band) | — | present | eponymous,original,tenor saxophone |
| Bay Area All Stars(band) | — | present | saxophone |
| The Jus Grew Orchestra(band) | — | present | baritone saxophone |
Where this record comes from
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/500be183-167d-4e84-b0a6-55968ab30492discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/500be183-167d-4e84-b0a6-55968ab30492core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1928528genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1928528seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Marcus_%28musician%29biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Marcus_%28musician%29
Why this artist is in the database
- List of jazz musicians
Tier rule: genre canon: jazz
Image: no portrait (not displayed: the licence credit is missing)
Wikidata: Q1928528 · MusicBrainz: 500be183-167d-4e84-b0a6-55968ab30492
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