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About us
We're a jazz group that feels at home
in many different venues, events and occasions. Marshall plays solo piano with
the group ranging in size from duo, trio to quartet consisting of piano, bass,
drums and reeds (saxes and flute). Our music can be called Mainstream Jazz and Fusion
and you'll hear Latin, rock and straight-ahead influences. We call our music Real
Jazz, but you can decide on your own classification. It's
very well suited for any occasion: energetic, infused with a musical depth and
sensitivity.
Listed
below are some of the establishments and events the group has played thus far. Please
write for our latest engagements.
About the leader...
Pianist
Marshall ‘Art‘ Shapiro has been playing for a number of years; he began at age
nine and hasn’t stopped since. He spent years of formal lessons in the classics
and later became interested in blues and jazz.
Marshall’s
musical interest began in Sunday school as a toddler when he was drawn to the
piano. At about five when hospitalized with an illness for a month, his father
gave him records of the classics which he played constantly. At about the age
of six, Marshall injured his right hand from an escalator accident which was
treated by surgery. Despite this, Marshall began formally studying piano at the
age of nine, His father’s records such as the Dukes of
Dixieland, Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman were an inspiration. A few rock
and blues bands in high school provided the first group experiences.
Marshall
began his professional musical career while in college as a
music major in Fullerton, California.
In addition to some great teachers at the school, an older organist and
trumpet player with a questionable legal status named Jack was an early jazz
influence there. Jack, who apparently was at the school on some kind of
“re-entry” program, presented Marshall with the colorful and earthy side of the
jazz culture before disappearing inexplicably from the scene. At about that
time, Marshall also studied jazz very briefly with saxophone great Warne Marsh.
After
playing casual parties including military bases, he landed his first steady
five-night-a-week gig with a singer and a rhythm section at a Claremont restaurant.
He then toured across the country with a jazz group and singer and then joined
another group heading for San Jose. Marshall has some interesting stories from
his road tours that won’t be told here.
Traveling
throughout Oregon, California, and Lake Tahoe, he played resorts and clubs and
then settled in the South San Francisco Bay area while in a quartet-sized dance
band. His musical experiences have varied from pop, rock n’ roll, blues and
jazz. Dance clubs allowed Marshall to make a living at night as he continued to
study piano and jazz by day in the colleges and practice rooms. "Pop music
wasn't my way of thinking musically, but it was a living," Marshall
explains.
In
recent years, Marshall has played in many of the popular jazz nightspots of the
Bay Area especially in San Francisco, Palo Alto and the south bay area. Playing
winery wine tastings have been some of his favorite jobs. He also plays with
various jazz big bands in the area playing 20 piece arrangements including
swing and dance.
We’re all
inundated with the contortion of the word “jazz”: jazz hairstyles, jazz foods -
well, you get the idea. Even some music called jazz doesn't even resemble the
music that grew from its American, African and European roots. Marshall loosely
defines Real Jazz as an instrumentally based music that largely features
improvisation. While this subject easily fills books, the music tells the
story.
Some of the events
the group has performed:
• Los Gatos Fiesta De Artes
• Tapestry n’ Talent •
Livermore Jazz Festival
• Berryessa Art & Wine
Festival • Campbell Prune Festival
• Los Altos Rotary Club Art
Show • Boulder Creek Art & Wine Festival
• The Walnut Creek Art and
Wine Festival • Almaden Valley Art & Wine
• The Wente Bros. Harvest
Wine Festival • Taste of Milpitas Festival
• Saxophone Colossus Series, San Jose Jazz Soc. •
Willow Glen Avenue of the Arts
• Willow Glen Founder’s Day • Milpitas Art & Wine Festival
• Fremont Art & Wine Festival • Blackhawk Music Series
• Pleasanton Pasta & Jazz Festival • Los Gatos Music Series
• Menlo Park Market Place •
Millbrae Art & Wine Festival
• Milpitas Music Series •
Mirassou Vineyards
Club dates have included:
• Cave Stritch • Viva In Los Gatos
• Ajax Lounge in San Jose •
Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Company of San Jose
• Great Bear Coffee in Los Gatos •
Bella Mia Restaurant in Saratoga
• Gerard’s in San Jose •
Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company
• Gordon Bierch
Brewery in San Jose. • Plumed Horse in Saratoga
• Hilton Towers, San Jose Sunday brunch • AP Stump's, San Jose
• Jose’s in Palo Alto • Great Bear and Los Osos Cafe of Los Gatos
• Mission City Coffee Roasting •
Orchard Valley Coffee Roasting Co.