Marcus Shelby

Born in February 1966, Marcus Shelby has been playing the acoustic bass for 23 years. In this time, he has built a diverse and accomplished biography. Shelby was bandleader of Columbia Records and GRP Impulse! Recording Artists Black/Note and is currently the Artistic Director and leader of The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, The Marcus Shelby Septet and the Marcus Shelby Trio. In addition, Shelby holds an instructor position at the Berkeley Young Musician Program, San Francisco State University and the Stanford Jazz Workshop and is the 2006 Fellow in the Resident Dialogues Program of the Committee for Black Performing Arts at Stanford University. As the 1991 winner of the Charles Mingus Scholarship, Shelby’s studies include work under the tutelage of composer James Newton and legendary bassist Charlie Haden. Recent honors include the City Flight Magazine 2005 award as one of the “Top Ten Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area”.