Eugene Marlow, Ph.D., is a composer/arranger, producer, presenter, performer, author/journalist, and educator. He has written 300+ compositions for solo instruments, chamber groups, and jazz big band in various jazz, Afro-Caribbean, Brazilian, and classical genres. His indie label, MEII Enterprises, has released 33 albums and single tracks of his original compositions and arrangements. Four of his charts for big band appear on four Grammy-nominated albums. His bembé arrangement of “Maria” appears on the 2018 Grammy-nominated “West Side Story Reimagined” (Jazzheads) featuring the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band.

Marlow is founder/leader/pianist of The Heritage Ensemble, a quintet that performs his original compositions and arrangements of Hebraic melodies in various jazz, Afro-Caribbean, Brazilian, and classical styles. The New York City Jazz Record described The Heritage Ensemble as “A cross-cultural collaboration that spins and grooves.” Marlow received a 2010 “Meet the Composer” grant for his work with The Heritage Ensemble. The Ensemble has released eight albums, including “A Not So Silent Night” which received four stars from Downbeat Magazine in 2017.

Marlow curated the Milt Hinton Jazz Perspectives concert series for 18 years (2000-2018) at Baruch College (City University of New York), where he teaches courses in media and culture (since 1988).

Author of 13 books in four languages and 400+ articles, his book Jazz in China: From Dance Hall Music to Individual Freedom of Expression (University Press of Mississippi 2018) was hailed as “. . .a sweeping, informative work of history” by Kevin Canfield in the November 2018 issue of the New York City Jazz Record and called “a pioneering study” by JazzHistoryOnline. The book was selected as “one of the five best jazz books of 2018” by the Jazz Journalists Association.

Marlow is also a documentarian. He is a recipient of the 2016 John Culkin Award for his DVD “Zikkaron/Kristallnacht: A Family Story,” a documentary short with a soundtrack for solo piano composed and recorded by Dr. Marlow. His 2022 “Jazz in China” documentary was selected by four international and eight domestic film festivals. It received an “Award of Excellence” from the “2022 Depth of Field International Film Festival” and was the winner of the 2022 American Insight “Free Speech Film Festival.”

More about Eugene Marlow.