Tina Marsh | |
---|---|
Birth name | Kristin Conway Marsh |
Born | Annapolis, Maryland, U. S. | January 18, 1954
Died | June 16, 2009 Austin, Texas | (aged 55)
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 1979–2009 |
Labels | CreOp Muse |
Tina Marsh (January 18, 1954, [1] – June 16, 2009) [2] was a jazz vocalist and composer based in Austin, Texas. She was the creative director of the Creative Opportunity Orchestra, a large jazz ensemble which she founded in 1980. [3] [4]
Marsh was born in Annapolis, Maryland. [2] During the late-1970s, she worked as an actor in musical theatre in and around New York City and Philadelphia. [4] While living in New York, she began forming ideas about jazz singing. After moving to Austin, Marsh attended concerts by Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers at Armadillo World Headquarters. [4] These performances inspired her to form her first professional group, New Visions Ensemble, with Alex Coke, Rock Savage, Booka Michel, and Horatio Rodriguez. [4]
In 1980, at the suggestion of Charlie Haden, Marsh studied at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York. [4] Upon returning to Austin, she formed the Creative Opportunity Orchestra with the members of New Visions Ensemble at its core. [4] CO2 began as a cooperative organization, similar to the AACM, though Marsh gradually assumed a managerial role and became the group's director. [4]
Marsh went on to perform with Carla Bley, Hamiett Bluiett, Vinny Golia, Dennis González, Billy Hart, Roscoe Mitchell, Steve Swallow, and Kenny Wheeler. [3] [4] Marsh and the ensemble performed at the Laguna Gloria amphitheater in Austin. [4] She was a participant in the Austin Jazz Workshop.
In 1994, Marsh was diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer. [5] In February 2008, she learned that the cancer had returned and metastasized, though she continued to record and perform later in the year. [1] [6] Marsh died on June 16, 2009. [2] She continued to perform up to two months before her death. [7]
In 2000, the Austin Chronicle inducted Marsh into its Texas Music Hall of Fame. [8] [9] In 2008, the Austin Critics Table inducted Marsh into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. [10]
The Austin History Center maintains a collection of Marsh's papers. [11]
C. Michael Bailey of All About Jazz described Marsh's music as "progressive big band, a kind of marriage between the avant-garde and postmodern classical. Marsh, like [Carla] Bley, favors low brass in assembly and solos. She uses her voice in a creative Meredith Monk sort of way that is not unattractive." [12]
With Alex Coke