Tina Marsh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
January 18, 1954
Tina Marsh | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kristin Conway Marsh January 18, 1954 Annapolis, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | June 16, 2009 (aged 55) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1979–2009 |
| Label | CreOp Muse |
| Formerly of | Creative Opportunity Orchestra |
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]
Awards and honors
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]
