On the drums, Mr Eddie Marshall.
I've always admired his playing, and, even though we've played only a few times together, we've always cherished any opportunity we get to explore each other's creative gifts. Mr Marshall possesses much more than an astounding ability to play drums; he's a complete musician, and an innovator at a myriad levels of musicianship.
He's played with Ahmad Jamal, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson, The Pointer Sisters, Kenny Burrell, and many others. He was also co-founder of the magnificent and successful group The Fourth Way.
Coming from a family of musicians in Springfield Massachusetts, Eddie Marshall is acknowledged as a leading figure in the evolution of San Francisco's contemporary jazz sound. For over fifty years he has played drums with nearly every major name in jazz, from Freddie Hubbard, Jon Hendricks and Dexter Gordon to Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Eddie Harris. A consummate sideman, Marshall was the designated house drummer at San Francisco's famed nightclub, Keystone Korner during the 1970s. His most long-standing musical associations have been with Toshiko Akiyoshi, with whom he has played since 1958, the late Stan Getz, Bobby Hutcherson and Bobby McFerrin. He co-founded with Mike Nock the seminal jazz fusion group, The Fourth Way. Since 1989 Marshall has also been performing on the alto and soprano recorders, working within a large variety of ensemble arrangements on a baroque instrument rarely heard in jazz.
While playing with many of the greatest jazz musicians of his day, Eddie Marshall has also distinguished himself as a composer. With two albums of original music to his name, his work is appreciated for both its driving intensity and its melodic lyricism. Chamber Music America with support from the Doris Duke Foundation awarded Marshall two grants through their New Works and New Works Encore Program, commissioning him to compose an original piece. "Dreams That Dance- A Suite", performed by Marshall's Holy Mischief Ensemble, premiered at the San Francisco Jazz Festival in November 2004.
Since 1981 Marshall has maintained an active teaching schedule in addition to his busy performance career. He has taught traps, jazz theory, composition, and small and big band arranging at Rhythmic Concepts Jazz Camp and The Stanford Jazz Workshop since 1984. Part of San Francisco Symphony's Adventures in Music series since 1990, he has also taught ensemble classes at The Jazz School in Berkeley. In 2001 he became the Bay Area Regional Director of JazzMasters Workshop, an innovative instrument instruction program for low-income youth, and currently he directs a free after-school music program for high school students. From 2000 to 2003 Marshall served as the Music Chair of the San Francisco Arts Commission. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his longstanding contribution to jazz music education and performance.