Don't Miss This Herbie Hancock-Approved Jazz Prodigy at Blue Note

Kyle Mullin | Feb 21, 2019 11:52 am | Add a comment | 439 reads

As if it wasn’t enough to win the illustrious Thelonius Monk International Trumpet Competition, Chicago jazz star Marquis Hill can also boast about receiving that award from Herbie Hancock himself. In 2014 Hancock – arguably the genre’s most famous living artist – posed for a photo with the then 27-year-old Hill after he won the night’s top honor thanks to his blend of traditional Chicago jazz and modern hip-hop.

Before his Feb 23 and 24 shows at Blue Note Beijing, the rising Windy City star talks about meeting his hero, mastering the horn, and his latest LP Modern Flows Vol. 2.

The trumpet is a very demanding instrument that takes hours of study and practice. I was fortunate enough to have mentors around me at an early age that motivated me to continue on my musical path and put my energy into becoming a better musician. My mentors saw that I had a natural attraction to the trumpet and they encouraged me to pursue it.

My earliest experiences learning about jazz on Chicago’s South Side was primarily from my elementary school band director, Ms. Diane Ellis. She exposed me to the power and lineage connected to this great black American music at a very young age.

Modern Flows EP Vol. 1 by Marquis Hill

Meeting Herbie Hancock was a dream come true. Like myself, Herbie is from Chicago and a legend that paved the way for many other Chicago musicians. He's an innovator and living master of this great music.

It felt absolutely incredible to be a part of the Thelonious Monk Competition. It was such an honor to be recognized and be associated with such a prestigious institution.

What inspired Modern Flows Vol. 2 was my want to blur the genre lines that have been created within Black American Music. Jazz, hip-hop, rap, blues, gospel, and R&B are all an extension of the same music that was created by the soul of black folks. Modern Flows Vol. 2 deals with this concept throughout the project.

I plan to continue touring my Modern Flows Vol. 2 project and I'm in the process of working on a new EP to be released sometime in the spring or summer of 2019. My ultimate goal is growth – musical growth and also growth as a human being.