LIVE at Piedmont Piano Company
Marcus Shelby Sextet
Conversation: The Language of Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus was one of the most iconic and prolific composers and bassists in the history of American music. Bassist Marcus Shelby and his sextet present “Conversation: The Language of Charles Mingus.” This program will include rarely performed Mingus compositions written between 1950-1960, excerpts from “Beneath the Underdog” and other writings by Mingus, archival film clips, as well as oratory by bandleader Marcus Shelby, providing listeners with a powerful deep dive into the creative life of one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century. With Darren Johnston (trumpet), Tony Peebles (alto sax), Danny Lubin-Laden (trombone), Greg Jacobs (piano), and Jemal Ramirez (drums).
General Admission
$30 in advance / $35 at the door
We are offering a limited number of seats for this performance. Advance purchase is recommended. Masking is optional.
MARCUS SHELBY
Marcus Anthony Shelby is a composer, bassist, bandleader, and educator who currently lives in San Francisco, CA. His work focuses on the history, present, and future of African American lives, social movements, and music education.
In 1990, Marcus Shelby received the Charles Mingus Scholarship to attend Cal Arts and study composition with James Newton and bass with Charlie Haden. Currently, Shelby is the Artistic Director of Healdsburg Jazz, an artist in residence with the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and a past resident artist with the San Francisco Jazz Festival and the Healdsburg Jazz Festival.
Shelby has composed several oratorios and suites including “Harriet Tubman,” “Beyond the Blues: A Prison Oratorio,” “Soul of the Movement: Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” “Black Ball: The Negro Leagues and the Blues,” “Green and Blues,” and a children’s opera “Harriet’s Spirit” produced by Opera Parallel 2018. Shelby also composed the score and performed in Anna Deavere Smith’s Off Broadway Play and HBO feature film “Notes from the Field” (2019). Shelby is also the voice of Ray Gardener in the Oscar winning Disney Pixar film “SOUL” 2020. Shelby has also worked with a range of artists including Angela Y. Davis’ “Blues Legacies and Black Feminism” (2019), W. Kamau Bell (“1000% Me”), Joanna Haigood’s “Dying While Black and Brown” (2014), Margo Hall’s “Bebop Baby” (2013) and “Sonny’s Blues” (2008), the Oakland Ballet’s “Ella” The SF Girl Choir (2013), The Oakland Youth Chorus (2014), and many other productions over the past 23 years. Shelby has served on the San Francisco Arts Commission since 2013. marccusshelby.com