Eugene Marlow is an award-winning composer/arranger, producer, presenter, performer, author/journalist, and educator.
Composer/Arranger: Jazz
Dr. Marlow’s jazz compositions include charts for big band in various genres, plus ballads, swing tunes, blues, and Latin-jazz flavored compositions for small ensembles. He has also arranged numerous Hebraic melodies in various jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and neo-classical styles.
His jazz compositions have been performed by the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Big Band, the Primary Colors Trio, the SYOTOS Latin/Jazz Band with Chris Washburne, The Numinous Orchestra, The Andy LaVerne Trio, The Trevor Day Big Band, the Manhattan School of Music Latin Jazz Orchestra, the New School Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, the George Gee Big Band, the Bobby Sanabria Big Band, and The Cyrus Chestnut Trio (2011 Montreal Jazz Festival).
His big band chart “El Ache de Sanabria en Moderacion” appears on Bobby Sanabria’s Grammy-nominated album “Big Band Urban Folktales” (2007 JazzHeads). Marlow signed with 3-2 Music Publishing to distribute this chart to educational institutions globally. Marlow’s reconstruction and arrangement of “Me Acuerdo De Ti,” originally recorded by Tito Puente, appears on “Tito Puente Masterworks Live!” recorded by the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra (Jazzheads 2011).
Marlow has studied jazz with NEA Jazz Master Dr. Billy Taylor, Andy LaVerne and Marty Sheller (jazz composition), Milt Hinton and Laurence Hobgood (jazz performance), and Manny Albam, Michael Abene, Jim McNeely, Grammy-winner Maria Schneider, and multi-Grammy nominee Bobby Sanabria (big band composition/orchestration). He has studied music scoring for film and television with Paul Chihara (at ASCAP), Scott Smalley, and Jack Smalley.
He is a former member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and the International Association for Jazz Education, and current member of the Jazz Journalists Association (former treasurer), the Jazz Education Network, the New York Composers Circle, Chamber Music America, the American Composers Forum, the National Music Publishers Association. He is a voting member of the National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences.
Composer: Classical
His classical works include fugues and “chansons” for solo piano, waltzes, lullabies, songs, string quartets, duets for flutes, various strings and piano, several purely electronic works, chamber works for winds and winds and strings, and pieces for brass, e.g., a composition for trombone quartet. His larger classical works include a suite (in progress) for chamber orchestra and an all strings chamber orchestra work based on octatonic scales, entitled “Undminished.”
Classical solo and chamber works have been performed by the Kandinsky and Corigliano String Quartets, the Circadia Woodwind Quintet, the Sylvan Winds, the Alaria Chamber Ensemble, the Damocles Trio, Musica di autori Americana dalla New York University (Italy), and virtuoso pianists Nataliya Medvedovskaya, Natalie Synhaivsky, Nada Loutfi, and Shiau-uen Ding.
An electronic three voice serial fugue–“48 Rows in One Minute”–was featured in the November 2003 performance of 60×60, a concert organized by VoxNovus (New York City). The 60×60 project also received a performance in Bucharest, Romania and at Brooklyn College (New York City), both in March 2004. A second electronic piece (“Arturo’s Reverie”) based on an improvised theme by jazz pianist Arturo O’Farrill for Marlow’s “Wonderful Discovery” album, was choreographed by Jeramy Zimmerman/CatScratch Theatre at Galapolus Performance Space (Brooklyn, NY) in September 2008.
For a time Marlow studied classical composition privately with 2004 Pulitzer-prize winning composer Paul Moravec. He has also studied with Maurice Peress and George Tsontakis.
In 1998 Dr. Marlow completed a CUNY BA in music composition, followed by a master’s in music composition at Hunter College in 2001. He has since completed doctoral level work in music at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Producer (MEII Enterprises indie label)
“A Fresh Take.” Nine tracks (MEII Enterprises 2011). A third album from Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble. Early reviews from allaboutjazz, Celebrity Café, Buffalo News, and Midwest Record.
“Celebrations: Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble Interprets Festive Melodies from the Hebraic Songbook.” Nine tracks. (MEII Enterprises 2010). Reviewed in over two dozen online and print publications, including LA Times, allaboutjazz, and jazztimes. Radio play in the United States, Canada, and Europe. October 2010.
“A Bouquet of Classical and Jazzy Love Songs from the Pen of Eugene Marlow” (MEII Enterprises 2009), a potpourri of selections from Marlow’s “Summer Afternoon,” “Wonderful Discovery,” and “Les Sentiments D’Amour” albums.
“Wonderful Discovery,” a collection of 12 original Latin tinge compositions. Performers include Grammy-award winner, Latin piano virtuoso Arturo O’Farrill and 14 other leading New York Latin jazz musicians. (MEII Enterprises 2007). Was on the JazzWeek chart of top 50 radio-played jazz CDs in the United States in 2007. Reviewed in: ejazznews.com, jazzreview.com, jazztimes.com, Midwest Report, et al. The Village Voice called this album “the best Latin jazz album of 2007.”
“Les Sentiments D’Amour,” a collection of 20 “chansons” for solo piano performed by Nada Loutfi, Lebanese-born, virtuoso solo pianist. Premiered at Steinway Hall (New York City, October 4, 2006). (MEII Enterprises 2006). CD aired on 22 radio stations in 12 countries, including the United States. Of this album, Paul Moravec, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for music, said: “With elegance, beauty and consummate skill, Eugene Marlow captures and projects a remarkably wide range of deeply felt sentiments.”
“Making the Music Our Own,” arrangements of nine Hebraic melodies in various jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and neo-classical styles (MEII Enterprises, March 2006). Distributed to radio stations in 19 countries, including the United States. Reviewed in All About Jazz, Jazz Improv.
“A Summer Afternoon With You,” a collection of 10 original pieces for jazz quintet (MEII Enterprises, October 2005). Aired on jazz radio stations in 22 countries (including the United States). Remained on the JazzWeek Top 50 chart for 10 weeks, 260+ weeks on Australian radio, three weeks on the Top Seven XM Radio Real Jazz channel chart. Reviewed in Jazz Improv, Montreal Mirror, and Oregon Jazz Society.
All these albums are available at cdbaby.com. Search: Eugene Marlow.
Performer
In addition to composing and arranging, Dr. Marlow is the leader/founder of The Heritage Ensemble, a quintet dedicated to recording and performing original compositions and arrangements of Hebraic melodies in various jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and neo-classical styles. He received a 2010 “Meet The Composer” grant for his work with The Heritage Ensemble.
A four+ minute video of The Heritage Ensemble can be found at www.youtube.com. Search: Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble.
Marlow also leads The Gene Marlow Ensemble, a group ranging in format from duet to sextet that performs at various private events in the New York Metropolitan area.
Presenter
Marlow is senior co-chair of the Milt Hinton Jazz Perspectives concert series at Baruch College (The City University of New York), now in its 20th year. An original member of the Hinton Committee when it was formed in 1992, Marlow was appointed co-chair in 2000. He immediately expanded the series from one concert to four events a year—in October, December, February (to coincide with Black History Month), and April (to coincide with Jazz Appreciation Month). This latter event usually spotlights a jazz journalist who provides a multimedia presentation on some aspect of jazz, either past or present.
Dr. Marlow is also formerly Director, Media Relations, for the New York Composers Circle. Formerly also the organization’s treasurer, Marlow helps produce NYCC’s four-concert season as a member of the group’s Steering Committee.
Author/Journalist
Dr. Marlow has authored eight books dealing with communications, technology and culture and 130+ articles and chapters that have been published in professional and academic journals in the United States, Germany, Greece, Japan, China, and Russia.
He is currently drafting a book on Jazz in China. Marlow was a regular contributing editor to www.jazz.com. For this work, Dr. Marlow received the prestigious 2010 James W. Carey Award for Journalism Excellence from the Media Ecology Association
Educator
Dr. Marlow is a professor at Baruch College (The City University of New York) where (since 1988) he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in media and culture.
Professor Marlow has received distinguished teaching awards and fellowships from the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He is a seven-time honoree, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences Authors, Editors, Artists/Performers annual reception (1996-2002), and has been an honoree at Baruch’s Annual Faculty Recognition Ceremony, A Celebration of Faculty Scholarship and Creative Achievement every year since 2003.
Marlow holds five degrees: Ph.D. (Media Studies/New York University, 1988), MBA (General Management/Golden Gate University, 1972), MS (Music Composition, Hunter College, 2001), BS (Music Composition/CUNY, 1998), BA (English/Hunter College, 1966).