Steve Marcus, a jazz saxophonist who recorded and toured with Stan Kenton, Herbie Mann and Buddy Rich, has died. He was 66.
Marcus died on Sunday in his sleep at his home in New Hope, family members said.
He was a pioneer of the jazz fusion movement of the late 1960s, a musical movement that combined elements of rock ‘n’ roll and jazz.
Marcus had been touring lately with the quintet ”Steve Smith and Buddy’s Buddies,” a tribute band to the music of Buddy Rich, said fellow saxophonist Andy Fusco, a member of the group.
”He was one of the players that was able to play main stream jazz and yet cross over into the rock idiom with a completely natural understanding of the music,” said Fusco.
Several of Marcus’ recordings have been recently reissued, including The Count’s Rock Band, and Tomorrow Never Knows, which garnered five stars from Down Beat Magazine when it was released, Fusco said.
Marcus was born in the Bronx, on September 18, 1939, and attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston, family members said.
Marcus is survived by his wife, Eleanor, and a daughter, Holly. – Sapa-AP