Lenny Marcus Trio
Jazz Times Magazine has described Lenny Marcus’ music as “Infectious!” No wonder, since Lenny worked for many years in New Orleans studying and performing with legends such as Ray Bryant, Ellis Marsalis, and Alvin Batiste. He has a strong blues-oriented left hand, thanks to Bryant. Lenny possesses a superior melodic imagination and highly developed arranging and orchestration skills that become palpable throughout a diversity of styles-swinging, cool, sophisticated, Jazzified Beethoven masterpieces, Latin, toe-tapping, high energy as well as beautifully contemplative and engaging.
This trio’s latest release is “When A Door Opens.”
International famed players who have performed and recorded with LMT include Charlie Byrd, Herb Ellis, Frank Foster, Brian Lynch, David “Fathead“ Newman (Ray Charles tenor), and Jane Powell.
Lenny has performed in three New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest, Spoleto, Barbados, and Grenada Jazz festivals in addition to appearing four times in Wash DC at the famed Blues Alley with his trio.
Lenny Marcus
Lenny Marcus (piano, keys, flute, vox) hails from Washington, D.C., but he worked for many years in New Orleans studying and performing with legends such as Ray Bryant, Ellis Marsalis, Alvin Batiste, and recording with David “Fathead” Newman, Charlie Byrd, Frank Foster, Sonny Fortune, Brian Lynch, Jane Powell and others. His compositions are refreshing and uplifting, and he has been compared to Vince Guaraldi, Oscar Peterson, Mose Allison, Ray Bryant and many others.
Zachary McDonald
Zachary McDonald of New Tripoli, PA, now a Baltimore, MD native, got his start as a jazz musician by playing with well-known artists in and around Roanoke, VA such as Cyrus Pace, Brian Mesko, and Lenny Marcus. He has formally studied bass with Paul Langosch and Ben Williams. Jazz, however, is not his only musical venture as he performs and records with other local Roanoke and Blacksburg rock, indie, and ambient acts such as Electric Chameleon, Missed Her, his own solo project, and an additional duo project with percussionist Denver Nuckolls.
Denver Nuckolls
Hailing from Galax, VA, Denver Nuckolls is a percussionist, composer, audio engineer, and educator that strives to create thoughtful music for a diverse audience. Beginning his percussive studies on his family’s pots and pans as a toddler, he has now been thriving in numerous artistic settings for over 12 years. Some examples of these include holding a principal percussion position in wind bands and orchestral settings, interpreting creative music on the drum set, and curating solo percussion recitals. He has studied with well-established names in both the classical and jazz domains, including Dr. Annie Stevens, Mark Ford, Paul Rennick, Christopher Deane, and Quincy Davis. Denver is currently based in Boston, MA.
Other Trio Members
Larry Scott
Larry Scott (drums) resides in Lynchburg, Virginia and he has traveled extensively. He is one of the most sought-after drummers in Southwestern VA. Among his many accomplishments is he has played with the Lynchburg Symphony, and he has opened for Kool and the Gang. He is an instructor at the Lynchburg Music School. Cadence and Jazztimes magazines have given him high marks for his percussive style.
Rick Eckberg
Rick Eckberg (upright bass, double bass) is a native of Rochester, New York. Rick studied double bass at Eastman School of Music while entering the jazz scene in upstate New York as a high school and college student. He has appeared with jazz greats including Carol Sloane, Teddy Wilson, Rosemary Clooney, Dakota Staton, and many others in various club and concert venues on the East coast. Rick now lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina playing in the Durham Symphony.