CANCELLED - Marc Chillemi Quintet - Tribute to Blue Note Record's 85Years

Marc Chillemi, trumpet player, bandleader, and composer is an active member on the  Maine music scene for the past two decades. Marc holds a B.A. in Jazz Composition  from Berklee College of Music, and earned a Masters in Jazz Studies from the USM  School of Music. Before moving to Maine, Marc was touring throughout North America  and Europe with several eclectic bands hailing from Boston. During this 12 year tenure  on the road, Marc performed with recording artists; Orchestra Baobab, John Brown’s  Body, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Red Baraat, the Satellites, G.Love & Special Sauce,  and John Popper from Blues Traveler.

After moving to South Portland in 2002, Marc quickly met local musicians to put  together a jazz trio and started a jazz night at a cafe in his neighborhood. The jazz  series included a variety of musicians and instrumentations each week. The jazz night  lasted for five years, which allowed Marc to network with many musicians throughout  the greater Portland area.

For the past 16 years, Marc has been a member of Maine based traditional Cuban  dance band, Primo Cubano. Recently, Primo Cubano performed at the Havana Jazz  Festival in Cuba, which validated the years of practice and shows. Continuing Marc’s  love and curiosity for Caribbean music he moved to Jamaica in 2022 to teach at the  legendary Alpha Boys School in Kingston. During his time in the Caribbean, Marc  performed with his group at the International Jazz Day in Jamaica. This experience  quickly enhanced his love for popular Jamaican music, which helps fuel another  Portland based group he leads, Raging Brass. Improvisational by design, this Afro Caribbean 8-piece brass band includes yet another collection of talented  instrumentalists curated by Marc over his years in Maine.

Decades later, playing music from many time periods of jazz history, Marc continues to  lead a variety of groups. Currently, Marc hosts a jazz night at Henry’s Public House in  the Oldport of Portland with a quartet. The Marc Chillemi Quintet was born out of a love  for the hard-bop arrangements from the 19060s Blue Note era. Recently, Marc has  been rehearsing a special group to honor Blue Note Records 85 years celebration. The  group includes special guest drummer, Gary Gemmiti (Rustic Overtones/Royal  Hammer), special guest saxophonist Andrew Bedard (Future Mailmen), along with the  quintet’s pianist, Clifford Cameron, and bassist Duane Edwards (Primo Cubano).