“Mr. Marcus is probably the most inventive bass clarinetist working in straight-ahead jazz today…
[and] lives in Baltimore, where he is a guiding light on the city’s jazz scene who doubles as an activist and organizer.”
– The New York Times

Bass clarinetist/composer Todd Marcus is one of the few jazz artists worldwide to focus their work primarily on the bass clarinet.

Though use of bass clarinet in jazz typically leans heavily towards avant-garde and free-jazz styles, Marcus’ straight-ahead playing has carved out a unique voice for the instrument in modern jazz. His music swings hard with both a fiery and introspective intensity but also maintains a strong lyrical sensibility.

Marcus has annually been voted a Rising Star in Downbeat Magazine’s Annual Critics Poll since 2013 and The New York Times writes, “Mr. Marcus is probably the most inventive bass clarinetist working in straight-ahead jazz today…[and] lives in Baltimore, where he is a guiding light on the city’s jazz scene who doubles as an activist and organizer.”  The Washington Post adds, “Listeners won’t have any trouble recognizing Marcus’s compelling gifts for composing and arranging.”  

Marcus actively leads small ensembles such as the Todd Marcus Quintet, Quartet, Trio, and Duo as well as his nine piece Jazz Orchestra on original compositions and jazz standards.

Self taught in jazz theory and composition, Marcus’ compositions draw largely on straight-ahead jazz and classical influences but over recent years have also increasingly explored the Middle-Eastern sounds from his Egyptian-American heritage.  He has worked with other jazz artists such as Gary Bartz, Bennie Maupin, Don Byron, Larry Willis, Gary Thomas, Joel Frahm, Tim Warfield, Ralph Peterson, Warren Wolf, Sean Jones, Xavier Davis, George Colligan, and Orrin Evans.

Marcus’ performances include national and international touring. He was a featured artist in 2023 at the International Clarinet Association Summit, 2017 Jazz Tales Festival in Egypt, 2015 Cairo Jazz Festival in Egypt, and in 2005 at the 1^st World Bass Clarinet Convention in Rotterdam, Holland.

Marcus balances his music career by running Intersection of Change, a nonprofit addressing poverty related issues in his Baltimore neighborhood.  The organization runs a community arts program for children & adults, a recovery program for women overcoming drug addiction, an urban farm, and has achieved significant community revitalization by renovating abandoned building and vacant lots.

For full bio – CLICK HERE

Todd Marcus endorses Syos mouthpieces and RZ Woodwind Manufacturing Bb clarinets

“Listeners won’t have any trouble recognizing Marcus’s compelling gifts for composing and arranging.”
– The Washington Post

“Marcus…is cleary what the jazz polls call a “rising star”…
In Marcus’ hands, the bass clarinet is no longer a specialty instrument.
Its unique timbral richness becomes incisive, fully capable of forceful expression.”
– Jazz Times

Todd Marcus Jazz Orchestra
A nonet of six horns (bass clarinet, alto saxophone/flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trumpet, trombone), piano, bass, drums and optional vocalist with musicians from Baltimore, New York, Washington, DC, Detroit, and Tennessee. The group’s instrumentation, compositions, and arrangements create a rich sound with music that incorporates straight-ahead jazz with other influences from classical to Middle-Eastern themes. The music explores a range of moods while swinging hard and showcasing the diverse soloists in the ensemble.

The Todd Marcus Jazz Orchestra
Many Moons (9:25)
Bousa (5:34)
Summertime (7:55)

Todd Marcus Quartet & Quintet
Traditional quartet and quintet ensembles with piano, bass, and drums but featuring Marcus’s rare use of bass clarinet as a lead horn in straight-ahead jazz.  The ensembles present Marcus’s original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards and the quintet features a second front line instrument of clarinet, guitar, or vibraphone.  The groups feature demonstrate Marcus’ rich harmonic approach and ability to present the bass clarinet as a hard blowing jazz horn equal to saxophone and trumpet as a front line solo instrument.

The Todd Marcus Quartet
The Adventures of Kang & Kodos (7:07)
Blues for Tahrir (9:13)
Bye Bye Blackbird (7:45)

The Todd Marcus Quintet
PTSD In The Hood (5:50)
Ground Zero at Penn & North (8:47)
NJ ’88 – Ode to the 80s (6:21)

Todd Marcus Trio & Duo
Marcus’s smaller groups offer his Trio with bass clarinet, bass, and drums or Duo with bass clarinet and piano.  Both incorporate a mix of original compositions with arrangements of jazz standards and showcase Marcus’s rich harmonic approach and ability to present the bass clarinet both with hard blowing intensity and softer textural sensitivity.

The Todd Marcus Trio
Something Suite:
1st movement (3:47)
2nd movement (1:32)
3rd movement (4:04)
4th movement (4:55)

The Todd Marcus Duo
The Adventures of Kang & Kodos (7:21)
Cantata (10:28)
This Is New (9:00)

NEWS

Syos unveils the new Todd Marcus Signature Bass Clarinet & Clarinet Mouthpieces
Todd Marcus joins RZ Woodwind Manufacturing as a Bb clarinet endorsing artist
WJZ TV feature coverage on Marcus’s music and community activism
Jazz Night In America features an episode on Baltimore including Marcus’s music and community work
The Jazz Journalists Association selects Marcus as a 2016 recipient of its Jazz Heroes awards: JJA 2016 Awards
Maryland Public Television (MPT) focuses an episode of its program Artworks on Marcus’ music work: Artworks on MP

INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

Washington Post covers Marcus’s community work at Intersection of Change
Marcus’s album Trio+ featured on NPR by Kevin Whitehead on Fresh Air
Marcus’s album Trio+ highlighted by the NY Times and Capital Bop and JazzTimes magazine
Marcus’s album On These Streets featured by NY Times, Los Angeles Times, JazzTimes, DownBeat, & CapitalBop
Todd Marcus Quintet performance selected as top pick by New York Times: NY Times
Marcus featured in commentary on community and music issues by Out of the Blocks
WYPR interviews Marcus about On These Streets: WYPR
Todd Marcus in discussion with guitarist Dave Pedrick on the Working Musician podcast: Working Musician Podcast
Todd Marcus in discussion with saxophonist Nathan Hook on the JazzBros podcast: JazzBros Podcast
WYPR Baltimore features segment on Todd Marcus’ music and community work: WYPR
WCVE Richmond presents feature on Todd Marcus Quintet: WCVE
Cairo Jazz Festival full length feature on work of Todd Marcus by Nile TV in Cairo, Egypt: Nile TV
Maryland Public Television (MPT) focuses an episode of its program Artworks on Marcus’ music work: Artworks on MPT
Journalist Shaun Brady writes about Marcus’ work and exploration of Middle Eastern influences: The Key
Maryland Public Television (MPT) interview about Marcus receiving Baker Artist Award: Maryland Public Television (MPT)
Radio interview on WYPR with Todd Marcus about his 10 year anniversary as a performer: WYPR
Journalist Geoffrey Himes citing Marcus as key innovator for bass clarinet in jazz: City Paper
Journalist Giovanni Russonello on Marcus’ quartet album Inheritance: Capital Bop
Journalist Willard Jenkins’ interview with on Marcus’ music and background: Open Sky Jazz
Journalist Aaron Henkin’s feature about Marcus’ community work and music: The Signal (WYPR)
Video interview of Marcus about his work with Orrin Evans Captain Black Big Band: Philly Jazz

“A new Todd Marcus recording is always a treat, not only for his prowess as a restlessly creative bass clarinetist but also for his original compositions that often explore the fertile ties between jazz and Egyptian music.”
JazzTimes, July 2022

“Along with Amir ElSaffar and Ibrahim Maalouf, Todd Marcus is one of this era’s great paradigm-shifters blending jazz with traditional Middle Eastern sounds. Like ElSaffar, Marcus came to his Middle Eastern roots from the jazz side; he’s also one of very few bass clarinetists to lead a large ensemble.”
Lucid Culture, July 2022

“Each successive release from bass clarinetist Todd Marcus presents a new and deeper marvel of composing, arranging, and performing. In the Valley includes perhaps his most personal compositions to date and his most detailed and complex arrangements, performed with an astonishing discipline by the nonet.”
Musically Speaking, June 2022

“Composer Todd Marcus has two things that immediately set him apart: he’s one of the very few bandleaders to focus on the bass clarinet as his main instrument, and he draws on his Egyptian American heritage for textures not usually found in the jazz idiom…Gorgeous and exciting, [his album] In the Valley showcases a player and composer at the top of his game.”
The Big Takeover, June 2022

“Todd Marcus, one of the few bass clarinetists in modern jazz, has almost made a point of understating his skill as a player throughout his recording career. His first albums aimed to incorporate his ethnic heritage into his art, wedding Egyptian music theory with big-band jazz. On These Streets, his 2018 release, was an immersive, moving reflection of his work as an activist, organizer, and resident of West Baltimore. Marcus’ instrument was more his group than his horn on these records, as he used the ensembles to weave rich narratives through the arrangements. However, the bass clarinet is front and center on Trio+, a strong postbop showcase for Marcus’ unquestionable command of the instrument in a small-combo setting.”
JazzTimes, February 2020

“[Marcus’s album] Trio+ is crisp and tight and varied and has more good melodies than we can dip into, plus a lot of very good bass clarinet playing.”
 NPR, December 2019

“One of the only improvisers to make the quiet, papery-voiced bass clarinet his primary instrument. One of the only nationally known jazz musicians to have remained in Baltimore. One of the only artists in a conspicuously conscious age to actually work full time as a community organizer. All right, now let go of all that and just listen. On “Trio+,” his new album, Marcus’s burly projection and loose-cannon improvising style make the case for him on their own.”
New York Times, November 2019

“Mr. Marcus is probably the most inventive bass clarinetist working in straight-ahead jazz today…[and] lives in Baltimore, where he is a guiding light on the city’s jazz scene who doubles as an activist and organizer.”
New York Times, August 2017

“This is music that is smart, heartfelt and alive with ardent conviction.”
The New York City Jazz Record, January 2016

“Marcus…is clearly what the jazz polls call a “rising star” – as a composer-arranger and as a bass clarinetist. His solos are highlights of this album. In Marcus’ hands, the bass clarinet is no longer a specialty instrument. Its unique timbral richness becomes incisive, fully capable of forceful expression.”
JazzTimes, August 2015

“Listeners won’t have any trouble recognizing Marcus’s compelling gifts for composing and arranging.”
The Washington Post, May 2015

“…an endlessly fascinating voice from Baltimore who’s captured national attention on the jazz scene…”
 DC City Paper, September 2014

“Baltimore-based Todd Marcus, the virtuoso bass clarinetist and composer, is a master of straight-ahead jazz.”
Baltimore Sun, January 2014