The hard-gigging Grand Rapids jazz drummer/harmonica player earned the thrill of a lifetime when he was honored earlier this month, the culmination of a journey that began with a brush lesson on the back of an old jazz LP.
As celebrated Grand Rapids drummer and harmonica player Randy Marsh puts it, he went to his own school to get a musical degree, learning from the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Frank Zappa.
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“Those became my professors,” says Marsh, who didn’t graduate from high school but found himself playing at a young age with Aris Hampers in the rock band Phlegethon, and later, with jazz pianist Eddie Russ. “I knew my destiny was to be a musician.”
Indeed it was.
Earlier this month, Marsh was honored as the West Michigan Jazz Society’s Jazz Musician of the Year at a banquet in The B.O.B. featuring performances by his father, legendary jazz saxophonist Arno Marsh, keyboard player Terry Lower, bassist Paul Keller, drummer Tim Froncek, trombonist Paul Brewer and trumpet player Chris Lawrence – an ensemble Marsh rightly calls a jazz “super-group.”
“I’m honored by that, humbled by that,” Marsh says. “It was an unprecedented night for the award.”
Marsh should know, because he’s played across the globe with some of the best over the years, from the popular Michigan jazz organ group Organissimo to earlier stints with the Mike Grace Band, TMGs, Turning Point, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Junior Valentine, Tom & Cherie Hagen and others. He fronts several other combos as well, including Randy Marsh & the Big Organ Trio.
JAZZ JOURNEYMAN, INSTRUCTOR AND TIRELESS JAZZ ADVOCATE
In the process, he’s become a much-respected journeyman who teaches drum lessons to eager young students and works as a tireless advocate for West Michigan’s jazz scene, launching popular weekly jazz jams at Grand Rapids clubs such as HopCat and the SpeakEZ Lounge. (Randissimo’s Sunday Night Jazz sessions continue at SpeakEZ at 7 p.m. every Sunday. This week, he’ll perform with keyboardist Terry Lower, guitarist Carlos Melendez and bassist Denis Shebukhov. Admission is free.)
“People all over the state are talking about how well things are musically in Grand Rapids. I’m really happy about that,” says Marsh, noting he decided a few years ago to stop “feeling sorry for myself” about finding elusive national success and instead help invigorate Grand Rapids’ jazz scene. “I practice what I preach. You have to put the work into this. How well you want to play is a product of how much time and work and effort you want to put into it.”
Marsh’s musical inspiration came at a young age, sparked by his mother, Mary Lou, who constantly was spinning all “the latest jazz albums” and “walking around singing while she was doing housework.” She even gave him his first drum lesson at age 11, playing brushes on the back of one of those vinyl LPs.
“I’ve always been surrounded by music,” says Marsh, who grew up enamored of artists like Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Mothers of Invention and “all that crazy music that mushroomed out of the pop/rock scene.”
Listening to a Nashville radio station late at night “on a little crystal radio” also introduced him to legendary blues and R&B artists, including harmonica players such as Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson. That, and hearing the intro to The Beatles’ “Love Me Do,” was all the inspiration he needed to teach himself how to play harmonica.
HATCHED IN A MUSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Music also was in his genes: His grandmother played piano in silent movie houses, his grandpa played violin and, of course, his father, Arno, is a standout tenor saxophonist who has played with Woody Herman, Stan Kenton and other icons, and still performs from his home base in Las Vegas.
His father left when Marsh was young, so he concedes it took years for him to “emotionally sort that out.” But he did eventually reconnect with his father as an adult. “I absolutely love and adore my father now,” Marsh says. “He’s a great player and I’m so proud of him.”
The feeling clearly is mutual, with Marsh getting a chance to play with his father whenever he’s back in Grand Rapids, including a recent show celebrating Arno Marsh’s 85th birthday as part of the jazz society’s Jazz at the Zoo series.
For Marsh, performing these days is all about brightening the spirits of audiences and fellow musicians, living each day to the fullest.
“People are looking for things that are uplifting. People need to forget their problems and be there in the moment and be there in the music,” he says. “We’ve got to enjoy every minute.”
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
Randy is a pillar in the music community. Nice article John. And a well deserved award for Mr. Marsh.