Marcus Elliot
Marcus Elliot Revisited
Two weeks ago I blogged about the legendary trumpeter Marcus Belgrave and his relationship with his friend, the 25 year old saxophonist Marcus Elliot. The blog tried to show how little age really mattered when that sat down to play. Mutual respect flowed out of their horns. Out of their comfortable relationship has come an ability to communicate on the fly. Here is Marcus the younger talking about their relationship.
Marcus is certainly one of the many young players who continue to give Detroit bragging rights to being the hottest crucible of jazz musicians today. Detroit has never sat on its hands when it comes to developing young talent . So here comes Marcus who released his first CD When The City Meets the Sky this past weekend. Marcus is working hard to spread the word, and his music deserves the shout out. Mark Stryker of the Free Press was one of those who picked up the story and wrote a glowing preview.Congratulations Marcus and Marcus.
Luis Resto Visited
Luis with friends in his loft Luis’ friend David McMurray
I have a magical place to paint in Detroit’s Eastern Market above Devries Cheese in the back of the 3rd floor. My only access to the space is by passing through Luiz Resto’s music loft. . Luis is a musician, a songwriter, a producer and a well kept secret. Luis doesn’t display his Oscar and his Grammy in the loft nor does he mention them. The space where Luis writes his music is in an old brick building with high wood beamed ceilings. It has great acoustics and is great for the soul. Luis has his private musical cocoon where he can focus on his writing. I have a place next door where I can paint while listening to music being invented.
Last Friday his respite was broken when the” Feet on the Street” tour group visited the loft, where they were able to spend time with Luis and learn and listen to his creative process. Luis and Dirty Dog regular David McMurray created a couple of hours of mostly improvised pieces of music mixed with conversations. Absolutely absorbing and to me amazing. Again I can’t figure out how skilled artists can communicate so efficiently. I can’t imagine the mess if two painters shared a canvas.. . one using the reds and the other the blues and having it come out the right shade of purple. Impossible!
John Osler
Luis, when asked how musicians can anticipate and compliment each other, talked about friendship just as Marcus did. Here are his thoughts.
Michelle Andonian and John Beavers produced this video for Luis’ new CD One Small Light
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