Marc Antoine
(born May 28, 1963 in Paris, France) is a smooth jazz/jazz fusion guitarist. Marc currently resides in Madrid, Spain. His guitar play style is based on Roma music.
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MARC ANTOINE TICKETS
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Biography
Early life
Guitarist, composer and producer, Marc Antoine, was born in
Paris,
France on the 28th of May 1963. His parents bought him his first guitar when he was 11 years old and he developed a passion for the instrument after watching a friend play. By the age of 13, his father was impressed by his growing skill and sent Marc to
Conservatoire de Paris where he would receive classical lessons. While learning his craft, he drew inspiration from his mentors
Andrés Segovia and
John Williams. Marc came to a crossroads at the age of 17 at which he had to choose between his hobby of guitar and his profession of competitive
swimming. As he'd won several awards through his guitar performances, he chose to remain a guitarist and expand his influences to include local favorites in jazz, rock, Afro, and pop. Marc also played in local bands in
Brittany, France during this time.
Injury and recovery
In the summer of 1981 at the age of 18, his debut was sidelined by an accidental injury to his left hand. While playing with the family dog, Marc unintentionally crashed through a glass door. The surgeon who removed the shards of glass from his hand told him that his chances of playing guitar again were slim to none. Marc's passion for the guitar drove him through a rigorous rehabilitation process for the next three years and in 1984 he was back on the scene in Paris, performing in clubs and recording for artists such as
Philippe Petit,
Charlelie Couture,
Jill Kaplan,
France Gall, and
Ray Lema. Marc also revisited his surgeon in 1984 and played a piece for him to demonstrate his full recovery.
Relocation and building a résumé
In 1988, a 25-year-old Marc moved to
London where he joined
Basia as part of her recording band and worked with other London-based acts such as
The Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra,
Soul II Soul,
Pato Banton, and
General Public. Marc also found the time to take part in the budding London
Acid Jazz scene. Shortly after, he decided to tour the world for inspiration which led him to spend time in Tokyo where he became an acclaimed session player.
Marc relocated once again, this time to
Los Angeles in the late 1990s. During his 12 year stay, he played backing guitar for marquee artists such as
Sting,
Celine Dion,
Rod Stewart,
Cher,
Selena,
Queen Latifah,
George Benson,
Guru's
Jazzmatazz project,
Take 6, and others. He composed and performed individual songs for six major movie soundtracks:
Get Shorty
,
The Fan
,
Patch Adams
,
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
,
Demolition Man
, and
Celtic Pride
. Marc worked with renowned producers
Tommy LiPuma,
Philippe Saisse,
Marcus Miller,
Mike Pela,
Guy Roche and
Stoker during this stint.
Recording career
Solo career
While in Los Angeles, Marc began his solo career with his first album
Classical Soul
on NYC/GRP records in 1994. The album was strongly influenced by
American pop and
hip-hop. Utilizing nylon strings on his acoustic guitar, Marc also infused
flamenco musical stylings into much of the album's work. The album enjoyed success in the American contemporary jazz market bolstered by the radio hit, "Unity."
In 1995 came
Urban Gypsy
, the second of his two self-produced solo albums.
Urban Gypsy
took only two months to write, record, and produce. Marc's objective for the album was to make the melodies more accessible to new listeners. The album ended up spawning two radio hit singles, "Latin Quarter" and "Sand Castle."
Madrid
saw release in 1998 on GRP records co-produced by
smooth jazz mainstay
Rick Braun. Despite lukewarm reviews from critics,
Madrid
produced two radio play singles, "Sunland" and the title track, that are still in rotation on several smooth jazz stations.
Universal Language
in 2000 was Marc's most ambitious record to date as he brought in musicians from his earlier career to give the record a worldly flavor, drawing influence from
African,
Celtic and European
Drum and Bass music. Marc's producer for this record was
Philippe Saisse.
Marc's biggest hit,
Cruisin'
was his final release on
GRP and came in 2001. Featuring a cover of
Sergio Mendes' hit
Mas Que Nada
,
Cruisin'
enjoyed success on the strength of radio hits "On The Strip" and "Cruisin'."
Mediterranéo
was released in 2003 on
Rendezvous Entertainment featuring strong Latin influence on the majority of the record. The album is Marc's best received album by critics to date, spawning two radio singles in the title track and "Cubanova," and also featured a cover of
Everything But The Girl's "Lady."
Taking a cue from his jazz idol
Miles Davis, Marc set out to find new directions for contemporary jazz. In doing so, he released
Modern Times
in 2005. For this record, he sought out electronic musician
David Ferrero to bring a club feel to his performances adding that he appreciates Ferrero's ability to arrange even Marc's own classically trained guitar into something that creates a groove. The album has one radio single, "Bella Via," and features Marc's first vocal performance on the French-language Sting cover "La Belle Dame Sans Regrets."
Marc's most recent outing,
Hi-Lo Split
, was released on
Peak Records in 2007. The album features a cover of R&B and jazz classic "
Spooky" as well as solos with a Mexican
requinto guitar and a steel-string guitar. The album has one radio single thus far, "For A Smile."
A compilation titled
The Very Best of Marc Antoine
was released in 2003 featuring his most well-known songs.
Accolades and collaborations
Marc's career boasts many #1 hits on the R&R contemporary jazz charts, as well as topping the Billboard charts. In 1995, R&R elected him Best New Artist of The Year, which was followed by his Gavin Award in 1998. He has also received numerous nominations for jazz awards in the US and Canada.
Regularly touring with contemporary jazz artists like
Dave Koz,
Chris Botti,
Jeff Lorber,
Jeffrey Osborne,
David Benoit,
Larry Carlton and others, he also performs or records with jazz legends such as
Peter Erskine,
Jimmy Haslip,
Mike Mainieri,
Dave Valentin,
Christian McBride, and
Mark Egan. Marc was honored when George Benson mentioned him as one of his favorite guitarists.
Discography
Albums
title
| year
| label
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Classical Soul
| 1994(1998)
| NYC/GRP
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Urban Gypsy
| 1995(1998)
| NYC/GRP
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Madrid
| 1998
| NYC/GRP
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Universal Language
| 2000
| GRP
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Crusin'
| 2001
| GRP
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The Very Best Of Marc Antoine
| 2003
| GRP
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Mediterranéo
| 2003
| Rendezvous
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Modern Times
| 2005
| Rendezvous
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Hi-Lo Split
| 2007
| Peak
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