I first met Jeff Marx in 1987, when I began studying Jazz Piano with John Esposito. Jeff and John, along with Jeff Siegel, Dave Douglas, Fred Berryhill, and Allen Murphy were playing in the group, Second Sight. With all of these guys being about 10 years older than me, and being very accomplished Jazz musicians, I thought of them as my musical, big brothers.
In addition to being a phenomenal Sax player, Jeff Marx was the consummate prankster.
In another life, he probably could have been a stand-up comedian. You had to be on your guard around him, but he was never mean spirited. Most people found him to be very good humored, and it seemed as if he always lifted the spirits, of those around him. You had to work to be unhappy, when Jeff was around.
I last spoke to Jeff in '92, he was sitting in with a group of us at a Jazz workshop. We were working on some Coltrane, but didn't have a Sax player. He sat in on Tenor, and it was amazing. Afterwards, I can still hear him humorously quizzing me about moving to Texas, and what sort things went on down there.
About a year and half ago, I received word that Jeff was in bad health, and was fighting cancer. Today, I noticed a Facebook post by Jeff Siegel indicating that Jeff had finally succumbed to the disease, and passed away yesterday. I'm raising a glass in his honor, and spending some time listening to some of his recordings. Here are some links related to his life, and his art.
- http://sunjumprecords.com/sunjump/Bios/marx_bio.html
- http://sunjumprecords.com/sunjump/projects/inyo.html
- http://sunjumprecords.com/sunjump/projects/tahrir.html
Rest in Peace, my friend!
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