Marc Rosen Biography

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Playing jazz, blues, swing for over 35 years

Rosen’s first professional gig was at the age of 14, for the Illinois state judge's convention in Chicago. He played clarinet and tenor sax in a jazz trio, with his brother playing flute and a friend playing keyboard. “I was amazed to discover that I could have fun playing and get paid.” Rosen’s trio grew into a five piece band called "Sweet Thunder." All during high school and part of college, "Sweet Thunder" played all over the Midwest, playing weddings, corporate events, country club events, bar mitzvahs, and select club dates. Rosen also played in his high school jazz band, which was fortunate enough to share the stage with Urbie Green, Bobby Rosengarden, and Don Ellis.

Frequent trips to Chicago during high school, and being allowed into the jazz clubs at an early age, gave Rosen an opportunity to hear and meet great players such as Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball and Nat Adderly, Dave Brubeck, and, most importantly, the legendary baritone sax player, cool jazz arranger and composer, Gerry Mulligan Rosen remembers, “The first time I heard Gerry Mulligan was at a small club called Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase. At the time, the club was downstairs from a rock room. It was a small place, and we tried to go at least once or twice a month to see who was there.  Mulligan was there with a quartet, and as usual, we sat about one foot in front of the stage. Mulligan's baritone looked like it was held together with tape and string. I was blown away by his sound on the baritone. I just couldn't believe the big horn could be so beautiful and expressive. That was when I really started studying the baritone and trying to emulate what I had heard."

Rosen furthered his studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a music major on the baritone sax. There he played in several of the jazz bands. Rosen also had the opportunity to play in several professional bands throughout his college years, and got to open for and appear with Joe Williams, Count Basie, Cannonball Adderly and other greats during those years.

After college Rosen eventually moved to Los Angeles. His experiences as a professional player continued with several bands, appearing at mostly corporate and wedding functions. Rosen took a hiatus from playing professionally when his life took the path of a law student. The rigor of law school did not allow his schedule to continue to gig and study at the same time. After graduation he moved to San Diego to start working as an attorney. His love of music never left him, though, and the spark of playing rekindled its fire again. Rosen began playing out again in San Diego with several different bands.

For a few years, he played baritone sax, clarinet, and soprano sax with “Big Time Operator,” a very successful 10 piece swing band. The group played Las Vegas often, including gigs at the Desert Inn and monthly appearances at the Hard Rock Cafe Casino. They also made regular appearances at the Derby, the Viper Room, the Hollywood Athletic Club and other high profile venues in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The group also appeared on national TV shows. Big Time Operator recorded a CD called "High Altitude Swing," which sold several thousand copies throughout the country.

Rosen grew as a player by additional sideman gigs with such groups as; The Shelltown Horns, an amazing blues band; Deuterium, a jazz quartet; Summit Circle, Rosen’s own jazz trio; Swing Shift, an 11 piece swing and rhythm and blues band; and Duck Soup, a jazz sextet. Deuterium recorded a CD entitled "Dreams of Madrid".

Rosen then moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, he played with the high powered blues band the “Motor Kings”, which, among other great gigs, opened for Delbert McClinton. Rosen also played clarinet with a jazz trio called “Three Faces of Jazz. He also played clarinet and was the leader for The Rio Chama Trio, and produced a CD of the trio called “Soul Space.

Rosen's fascination with cool jazz has never waned. One reviewer said, "With [Mulligan] as his musical model, [Rosen] developed his own baritone sax sound and style. [Rosen] has musical talent and intelligence, and he has practically resurrected the best of Gerry Mulligan. ...[Rosen's] tone quality and facility on the baritone sax [are] unusually nice..."

The latest facets of Rosen's musical journey are expressed in his latest release, Monsoon. Rosen said, “In this group, we started out playing almost all tunes by Gerry Mulligan so that the guys could get comfortable with the style. The tunes on Monsoon are all originals that fit into that vibe. This CD takes some of Mulligan's melodic and harmonic ideas, and expands upon them, bringing the music into this century. It really is a unique blend of classic and contemporary jazz. I feel my playing has gotten to the point where I am comfortable with the unusual harmonic structures and sometimes surprising forms that Mulligan used, and can really interpret them in my own way, to bring excitement and beauty to them and communicate that to the listeners.”

Artt Frank, a longtime Bop drummer with Chet Baker and many other luminaries including Charlie Parker said, “The CD reminds me of some of the great musical things that Chet (Baker) and Gerry (Mulligan) used to do during the early 50s at the Haig, a small jazz club in Hollywood. The musicianship is together and I feel that the players each expressed himself very well. I think this is a damn good CD!”

Rosen will continue with his exploration of the cool jazz style and continue to expand and modernize it, without losing its unique and satisfying melodic power. "Our goal,” he said, “is to bring cool jazz back to the attention of the world. I think the baritone sax is one of the most beautiful and expressive instruments there are. Most people who hear our music find that it really moves them. We want to bring that enjoyment to as many people as we can.”