Bio
A tree-hugger from the Chattanooga Valley by way of Athens, GA, saxophonist Marc Gilley is an interdisciplinary musician who focuses on original works while channeling the improvisational history of Chattanooga, TN (Bessie Smith, Jimmy Blanton, The Shaking Rays Levi Society, Yusef Lateef), the independent spirit of Athens, GA, and inspiration from the natural world in his playing.
He communicates with other musicians and audiences through a playful sense of improvisation and musical interplay. The goal of each performance is to create, alongside listeners and other performers, a newly formed acoustic world such that no two performances are the same.
He communicates with other musicians and audiences through a playful sense of improvisation and musical interplay, striving with fellow performers and listeners alike for a newly formed acoustic world such that no performance is the same. His ideal performance asks listeners and musicians alike to explore personal and sometimes seemingly unrelated elements (nature/experience/improvisation/body/mind), discovering hidden connections such that the creation of each performance is transformative, the meaning of the moment is shared, and the experience of life is deepened.
He has appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Jazz a Vienne, the Dogwood Festival, and Athfest, among others, and at many well-known music venues including The Tabernacle, the 40 Watt club, 30 Rock, NY, NY. A saxophonist from the age of 10, he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Georgia.
Contact me for info about booking Spondee or GRrrr for your club/festival/museum, for booking a group for your special events, for recording, musical projects, or any other questions!