Sal Marquez

So Sal Marquez could laugh now, just shake his head over all those times his jazz-playing friends came visiting from New York. The trumpeter had settled himself here back in 1969, after his final, amiable firing from the Buddy Rich band. And he'd always be asking such illustrious pals as drummer Jeff (Tain) Watts and pianist Kenny Kirkland when they would be moving to Los Angeles too. The answer would always be something like: "Yeah, man. It's nice here, but I really love it in New York."

Get better as you get older. That's the idea in art, or anything else. Trumpeter Sal Marquez, one of Los Angeles' premier post-bebop trumpeters, subscribes to this viewpoint. A journeyman who's made his name playing with top-of-the-line talents such as Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Frank Zappa and the Beach Boys, Marquez says that he has experienced some recent artistic growth, which has allowed him to further relax and play from within.

Get better as you get older. That's the idea in art, or anything else. Trumpeter Sal Marquez, one of Los Angeles' premier post-bebop trumpeters, subscribes to this viewpoint. A journeyman who's made his name playing with top-of-the-line talents such as Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Frank Zappa and the Beach Boys, Marquez says that he has experienced some recent artistic growth, which has allowed him to further relax and play from within.

In his 40-plus years as a jazz artist, the superlative pianist-composer Cedar Walton has contributed numerous classics to the jazz canon. Such tunes by Walton as "Bolivia," "Fantasy in D," "Mosaic" and "Midnight Waltz" are now part of the standard repertoire and are played and recorded by jazz musicians around the world. To hear Walton tell it, there's hardly been a time when he hasn't composed. "From age 6 or 7, I started to make up songs," said the Dallas native who has homes in Los Angeles and New York City.

One of the most valuable legacies of jazz's be-bop era is the collection of music--much of it composed by Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk--that continues to be a vital source of inspiration for improvisers. Trumpeter Sal Marquez is a talented and determined bopper who has been making a valiant effort to re-examine be-bop with a group he calls, appropriately, Birdland Revisited. Monday night at the Vine St.

* * 1/2 Sal Marquez, "One for Dewey," GRP. The trumpeter sounds more like Miles Davis in this testimonial collection of Davis-associated songs than the jazz master himself probably could have in the last years of his life. Although there occasionally is a disturbingly deja vu quality to Marquez's paralleling of Davis lines on songs like "If I Were a Bell," "Solar" and " 'Round Midnight," the trumpeter's own considerable skills as a neo-bopper ultimately shine through.

As a member of the Branford Marsalis band on the impending new "Tonight Show," and with a GRP album of his own due out soon, trumpeter Sal Marquez is surely on the way to achieving the recognition he deserves. Marquez, who led his quintet in the latest of a continuing round of weekly appearances on Sunday evening at the Vine St.

In his 40-plus years as a jazz artist, the superlative pianist-composer Cedar Walton has contributed numerous classics to the jazz canon. Such tunes by Walton as "Bolivia," "Fantasy in D," "Mosaic" and "Midnight Waltz" are now part of the standard repertoire and are played and recorded by jazz musicians around the world. To hear Walton tell it, there's hardly been a time when he hasn't composed. "From age 6 or 7, I started to make up songs," said the Dallas native who has homes in Los Angeles and New York City.

Beethoven wrote duos for clarinet and bassoon, Mozart for two horns as well as violin and viola. So there was at least some precedent for trumpeter Sal Marquez and bassist Dave Carpenter's duo appearance at Spaghettini on Sunday. Still, the trumpet-bass collaboration was something of a novelty for anyone more used to hearing percussion behind a trumpeter, or used to hearing piano carry the harmonic load.

Sal Marquez loves playing jazz. His favorite trumpeter is Miles Davis, and Marquez's debut solo recording, released in July, is a tribute to Davis titled "One for Dewey." Unlike some jazz musicians, however, Marquez is not above other styles of music.

Beethoven wrote duos for clarinet and bassoon, Mozart for two horns as well as violin and viola. So there was at least some precedent for trumpeter Sal Marquez and bassist Dave Carpenter's duo appearance at Spaghettini on Sunday. Still, the trumpet-bass collaboration was something of a novelty for anyone more used to hearing percussion behind a trumpeter, or used to hearing piano carry the harmonic load.

Sal Marquez loves playing jazz. His favorite trumpeter is Miles Davis, and Marquez's debut solo recording, released in July, is a tribute to Davis titled "One for Dewey." Unlike some jazz musicians, however, Marquez is not above other styles of music.

* * 1/2 Sal Marquez, "One for Dewey," GRP. The trumpeter sounds more like Miles Davis in this testimonial collection of Davis-associated songs than the jazz master himself probably could have in the last years of his life. Although there occasionally is a disturbingly deja vu quality to Marquez's paralleling of Davis lines on songs like "If I Were a Bell," "Solar" and " 'Round Midnight," the trumpeter's own considerable skills as a neo-bopper ultimately shine through.

So Sal Marquez could laugh now, just shake his head over all those times his jazz-playing friends came visiting from New York. The trumpeter had settled himself here back in 1969, after his final, amiable firing from the Buddy Rich band. And he'd always be asking such illustrious pals as drummer Jeff (Tain) Watts and pianist Kenny Kirkland when they would be moving to Los Angeles too. The answer would always be something like: "Yeah, man. It's nice here, but I really love it in New York."

As a member of the Branford Marsalis band on the impending new "Tonight Show," and with a GRP album of his own due out soon, trumpeter Sal Marquez is surely on the way to achieving the recognition he deserves. Marquez, who led his quintet in the latest of a continuing round of weekly appearances on Sunday evening at the Vine St.

One of the most valuable legacies of jazz's be-bop era is the collection of music--much of it composed by Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk--that continues to be a vital source of inspiration for improvisers. Trumpeter Sal Marquez is a talented and determined bopper who has been making a valiant effort to re-examine be-bop with a group he calls, appropriately, Birdland Revisited. Monday night at the Vine St.

Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Freddie Hubbard--these are some of the great jazz trumpeters who have left their mark on Sal Marquez. And then there's Miles Davis. "While I love all those other guys, Miles is my primary influence," said trumpeter Marquez, a fine mainstream artist who has played and recorded with giants such as Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and Frank Zappa. "He went against the grain of playing technically. He utilized space. He'd pick out a note and hang on to it.

Top-flight L.A. jazz scene veterans Doug Webb and Sal Marquez head a quintet performing tonight in Sherman Oaks. Saxophonist Webb, whose playing has been described as "melodic-minded and hard-swinging," has performed with Freddie Hubbard, Doc Severinsen, Horace Silver, Bill Holman, Tom Jones and Kyle Eastwood, among others. Trumpeter Marquez, who has recorded with Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and Frank Zappa, was featured in Branford Marsalis' band on "The Tonight Show" several years back.