In a jazz world brimming with brilliant and adventurous pianists, Marc Cary stands apart by way of pedigree and design. None of his prestigious peer group ever set the groove behind the drums in Washington DC go-go bands nor are any others graduates of both Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln's daunting bandstand academies. Besides Carter and Lincoln, the next decade of his life found him sharing stages and cultivating craft with Dizzy Gillespie , Arthur Taylor,Carlos Garnett, Jackie McLean Wynton Marsalis and Carmen McRae. Devoted fans know Cary's ensemble profile has three distinct and mesmerizing faces, revered among critics alike with DownBeat Critics Poll ‘Rising Star – Keyboardist’ honor: his Focus Trio; and his pan-ethnic collective Indigenous Peoples. Cary remains one of the progenitors of contemporary jazz, evident in his influence on peers. Live gigs with Stefon Harris and Casey Benjamin began the genesis of Robert Glasper's recording Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and "Taiwa" from Focus in 2006 evolved into "For You" on Glasper's Double Booked and Harris' Urbanus. Roy Hargrove exalted him with "Caryisms" on THE VIBE, an album whose title track is one of two Cary originals including "Running Out of Time"--now part of the lexicon of live repertoire among jazz stalwarts . To the electronic jazz tradition Cary noticeably brings his own lyricism, warmth and warp-speed chops. The tradition of a supple and virile Black futurism is abundantly evident.

Marc Cary

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