Marcus Rojas (born February 23, 1963) is an American

tubist The tuba has been played since the mid-19th century, in the midst of the Romantic music, Romantic period of Western Classical music. Along with classical music, the instrument appears in a variety of jazz styles as well Film music, film and circus ...

from New York City.

Early life

Rojas was born in New York City on February 23, 1963, and grew up in

Red Hook, Brooklyn Red Hook is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City, United States, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. It is located on a peninsula projecting into the Upper New York Bay and is bounded by the Gowanus Expressway and the Ca ...

. His early influences included

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is a Puerto Rican and American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón was a pioneer of Salsa music and a be ...

, and uncles who played percussion and trombone. He began on trombone at elementary school, then changed to tuba in junior high school. At age 15, Rojas began lessons with tubist Samuel Pilafian. He went on to attend the

High School of Music & Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as Music & Art (or M&A), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High S ...

in New York, and studied further at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

Career

"After graduation, he moved back to New York and started to work with a wide variety of musicians in different settings, including bassist

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playin ...

's Liberation Music Orchestra, composer-saxophonist

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

's Very Very Circus, trumpeter

Lester Bowie Lester Bowie (October 11, 1941 – November 8, 1999) was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography Born in th ...

's Brass Fantasy." He has played in the orchestras of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

and the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

. Rojas formed the trio

Spanish Fly Spanish fly or Spanish Fly may refer to: * ''Lytta vesicatoria'', a species of beetle * Cantharidin, a poisonous compound secreted by the beetle, historically used in medication and as an aphrodisiac Film * Spanish Fly (1975 film), ''Spanish ...

with Steven Bernstein and

David Tronzo David Tronzo (born 1957) is an American guitarist, best known for his innovation of pairing the techniques of electric slide guitar with the genres of bebop, modern jazz, rock, downtown music, and experimental music. He has recorded with former D ...

in 1989. He has also worked with the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York–based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra ...

Foetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...

Sly & Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

, and

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

. He has taught at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

, and

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

Discography

As co-leader

* ''Brass Bang!'' with Steven Bernstein,

Paolo Fresu Paolo Fresu (; born 10 February 1961) is an Italian jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player, as well as a composer and arranger of music. His unique trumpet sound is recognized as one of the most distinctive in the contemporary jazz scene. Fresu pla ...

, Gianluca Petrella (Bonsai/Tuk, 2014) * ''Tattoos And Mushrooms'' with Steven Bernstein, Kresten Osgood (ILK Music, 2009)

As sideman

With

Bob Belden James Robert Belden (October 31, 1956 – May 20, 2015) was an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader, and producer. As a composer he may be best known for his Grammy Award winning orchestral jazz recording, ''Black Dahlia'' (2001) ...

* 1991 ''Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting'' * 2001 ''Black Dahlia'' With

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

* 1994 ''

'' * 2012 ''

Love This Giant ''Love This Giant'' is a studio album made in collaboration between musicians David Byrne and St. Vincent, released on 4AD and Todo Mundo on September 10, 2012, in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States. Marking Byrne's ...

'' With

Thomas Chapin Thomas Chapin (March 9, 1957 – February 13, 1998) was an American composer and saxophone, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. His music spanned the full range of 20th century creative music, from his time as Lionel Hampton's bandleader ...

* 1992 ''Insomnia'' * 1999 ''Alive'' With Dave Douglas * '' Mountain Passages'' ( Greenleaf, 2005) * '' Spirit Moves'' (Greenleaf, 2009) * '' United Front: Brass Ecstasy at Newport'' (Greenleaf, 2011) * ''

Rare Metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less chemically reactive than most elements. They are usually ...

'' (Greenleaf, 2011) With

* 1994 ''Rags to Britches'' * 1996 ''Fly by Night'' With

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

* 2009 '' If on a Winter's Night...'' * 2010 '' Symphonicities'' * 2013 '' The Last Ship'' With

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

* 2004 '' Indestructible Object'' * 2011 '' Album Raises New And Troubling Questions'' With

* '' Too Much Sugar for a Dime'' (

Axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...

, 1993) * '' Carry the Day'' ( Columbia, 1994) * '' Makin' a Move'' (Columbia, 1995) With

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

* 2009 '' High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project'' * 2012 ''

Older Than My Old Man Now ''Older Than My Old Man Now'' is the twenty-second studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released on April 17, 2012, on 2nd Story Sound Records. Described as "a gleefully morbid summing up of ainwright'slife in whi ...

'' With

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

* 2012 ''Sword & Stone'' * 2012 ''Words & Tones'' With

* 1992 '' John Zorn's Cobra: Live at the Knitting Factory'' * 2002 '' Cobra: John Zorn's Game Pieces Volume 2'' * 2011 '' The Satyr's Play / Cerberus'' With others * 1987 ''No Dummies Allowed'',

Charlie Persip Charles Lawrence Persip (July 26, 1929 – August 23, 2020), known as Charli Persip and formerly as Charlie Persip (he changed the spelling of his name to Charli in the late 1960s), was an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Morristown, N ...

* 1991 '' Spirit of Nuff...Nuff'', Very Very Circus * 1996 ''Mundo Civilizado'',

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation '' No New York''. In ...

* 1996 '' Gravity!!!'', Howard Johnson and Gravity * 1999 ''Hold the Elevator'', Orange Then Blue * 2000 ''Muy Divertido!'',

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, Rock music, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notab ...

* 2001 '' Songs I Heard'',

Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling ma ...

* 2003 '' Alegría'',

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

* 2004 ''

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13 ...

'',

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the field of creative music. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Freedom Summers'', released on ...

* 2004 ''While the Music Lasts'',

Jesse Harris Jesse Harris (born October 24, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist. He has worked with Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux, and Lizz Wright. Early life and education Harris and his twin sister were born i ...

* 2008 ''Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs of Joy & Peace'',

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

* 2009 ''Arrow'', Clare & the Reasons * 2009 ''Declaration'',

Donny McCaslin Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, ''Blackstar (album), Blacksta ...

* 2009 ''Tattoos & Mushrooms'', Steven Bernstein * 2009 '' Trombone Tribe'',

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

* 2010 ''Girls Need Attention'', Richard Julian * 2010 ''Heavy Dreaming'', Ryan Keberle * 2011 ''The Gaddabouts'', The Gaddabouts * 2012 ''Manhattan Jazz Orchestra Plays Disney'', Manhattan Jazz Orchestra * 2016 '' Stranger to Stranger'',

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

References

External links

Marcus Rojas: Finding the Sound World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Marcus 1963 births 20th-century American musicians American jazz tubists American music educators Avant-garde jazz tubists Brooklyn College faculty Living people American male jazz musicians Manhattan School of Music faculty Musicians from Brooklyn New England Conservatory alumni New York University faculty State University of New York at Purchase faculty Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American tubists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians People from Red Hook, Brooklyn Spanish Fly (band) members Ilk Records artists