Marshall Gilkes (born September 30, 1978) is an American jazz trombonist and composer.

Biography

Marshall Gilkes was born in

Camp Springs, Maryland Camp Springs is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 22,734 at the 2020 census. Camp Springs is not an official post offic ...

to a musical family; his mother was a classical

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and his father was a

Euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

player in the

US Air Force Band The United States Air Force Band is a U.S. military band consisting of 184 active-duty members of the United States Air Force. It is the Air Force's premier musical organization and is based at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. Wi ...

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and, later, conductor of several Air Force bands including the premier US Air Force Academy Band in Colorado Springs, CO. Due to his father's military profession, he had an itinerant upbringing in Washington, D.C., New Hampshire, New Jersey, Alabama, Illinois, and Colorado. He received his early musical training at the

Interlochen Arts Academy Interlochen Center for the Arts ( '; also known as I.C.A. or Inty) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit corporation which operates Visual arts education, arts education institutions and Music venue, performance venues. Established in 1928 b ...

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...

, and

William Paterson University William Paterson University, known as WP, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 an ...

. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. His teachers include Joseph Alessi,

Conrad Herwig Lee Conrad Herwig III (born November 1, 1959) is an American jazz trombonist from New York City. Biography Herwig began his career in Clark Terry's band in the early 1980s and has been a featured member in the Joe Henderson Sextet, Tom Harrell's ...

, CMSgt (ret) Mark Burditt,

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 19 ...

, Ed Neumeister, and

Wycliffe Gordon Wycliffe A. Gordon (born May 29, 1967) is an American jazz trombonist, arranger, composer, band leader, and music educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. Gordon also sings and plays didgeridoo, trumpet, soprano trombone, tuba, and piano ...

. In 2003, Gilkes was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Gilkes played in the Maria Schneider Orchestra and David Berger's Sultans of Swing. He is a member of the

Edmar Castañeda Edmar Castañeda (born 1978) is a Colombian harpist. He performs his own compositions as well as tapping into native music of Colombia and Venezuela. He leads a trio with David Silliman on drums and Marshall Gilkes on trombone. He has also been ...

Trio, and th
Slide Monsters
trombone quartet. He has performed with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Duke Ellington Orchestra,

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...

, and

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...

. In the Latin music community, he has performed with

Machito Frank Grillo (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo; December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) known professionally as Machito (previously as Macho), was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music ...

Giovanni Hidalgo Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" (born November 22, 1963) is a Latin jazz percussionist. Early years Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. His grandfather was a musician, and his father, José ...

Chico O'Farrill Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill (October 28, 1921 – June 27, 2001) was a Cuban composer, arranger, and conductor, best known for his work in the Latin idiom, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz or "Cubop", although he also composed traditional jazz pieces ...

Tito Nieves Humberto "Tito" Nieves (born June 4, 1958; also known as "El Luciano Pavarotti, Pavarotti de la Salsa") is a Puerto Rican musician who became one of the leading Salsa music, salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s. Early life Humberto "Ti ...

, Big 3 Palladium Orchestra, Raulin Rosendo,

Ray Sepúlveda Ray Sepúlveda is a salsa singer born in Brooklyn, New York of Puertorrican descent. He recorded three albums with Orchestra Sociedad 76 in the late 1970s and two albums forming the Johnny & Ray Orchestra (Salsa con Clase) in the late 1980s before ...

Eddie Santiago Eddie Santiago (born Eduardo Santiago Rodríguez, August 18, 1955) is a salsa singer from Puerto Rico. He is one of the great figures of this musical genre, with popular songs such as “Me Haces Falta Tú" on Soy el Mismo, “Lluvia" on Sigo ...

, José Alberto "El Canario", and Iroko La Banda. He played in the 2000–2001 National and Japanese tours of the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

show ''

Swing! ''Swing!'' is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz (1930s–1946), including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodm ...

''. Gilkes has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, and South America. Previous performance engagements include the

Umbria Jazz Festival The Umbria Jazz Festival, directed by Carlo Pagnetta, is one of the most important jazz festivals in the world and has been held annually since 1973. Today, the summer festival runs for 10 days in Perugia, capital of Umbria. The original plan w ...

, Vienna Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival,

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, Tokyo's Orchard Hall, and the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

. In March 2008, he was invited to perform with the jazz drummer

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the '' Mode ...

and the Adelaide Philharmonic at the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts in Australia. He was a guest performer at the International Trombone Festival from May 28–31, 2008 in Salt Lake City, Utah. With the exception of one track, he composed new material for his 2004 record, "Edenderry." The album received excellent reviews from, among others, ''

Jazz Times ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'', ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', and the '' Trombone Journal''. In 2010, he became a full-time member of the Grammy Award-winning

WDR Big Band WDR Big Band is the jazz big band of German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) in Cologne, Germany. History Origins After World War II, the ''Kölner Rundfunk-Tanzorchester'' (''Cologne Radio Dance Orchestra'') was active from ...

. In February 2015, he released his album ''Köln'', his first fronting a big band. ''Köln'' received two

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations for

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

and Best Instrumental Composition.

Discography

As leader

* ''Edenderry'' (Alternate Side, 2004) * ''Lost Words'' (Alternate Side, 2008) * ''Sound Stories'' (Alternate Side, 2012) * ''

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

'' (Alternate Side, 2015), with The WDR Big Band * ''Always Forward'' (Alternate Side, 2018), with The WDR Big Band *''Waiting to Continue'' (Alternate Side, 2020) *Cyclic Journey (Alternate Side, 2022) *LifeSongs (Alternate Side, 2024), with the WDR Big Band

As
sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo o ...

With The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra * ''

Sky Blue Sky blue refers to a collection of shades comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. Typically it is a shade of cyan or light teal, though some iterations are closer to light Azure (color), azure or light blue. The term (as "sky blew") is atte ...

'' (2007) * ''

The Thompson Fields ''The Thompson Fields'' is an album by the Maria Schneider Orchestra that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2017. Schneider was the composer, conductor, and co-producer of the autobiographical work. The title comes fro ...

'' (2015) * ''

Data Lords ''Data Lords'' is a large-ensemble jazz album by the Maria Schneider Orchestra that was released in 2020. Summary The tracks of the album are thematically organized in two sections, which the liner notes call "a story of two worlds" and are mu ...

'' (2020) With The Ryan Keberle Double Quartet * ''Double Quartet'' (2007) * ''Heavy Dreaming'' (2010) With

* '' Cuarto de Colores'' (2005) * ''Entre Cuerdas'' (2009) With David Berger * ''Marlowe'' (2004) * ''Champian'' (2007) * ''I Had The Craziest Dream'' (2008) With others * The Big 3 Palladium Orchestra - ''Live at the Blue Note'' (2004) *

John Fedchock John William Fedchock (born September 18, 1957) is an American jazz trombonist, bandleader, and arranger. Early life and education Fedchock was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied at Ohio State University and the Eastman School of Music at th ...

New York Big Band - ''Up and Running'' (2007)

References

External links