Background

Marcos Varela began playing the bass in his native Houston, TX at the age of Sixteen when he attended the highly acclaimed High School for the Performing & Visual Arts. A School that has been attended by many greats in music today such as Jason Moran, Eric Harland, Robert Glasper, Beyonce, Brian-Micheal Cox, Chris Dave and many more.

Marcos quickly gained recognition in the Houston jazz scene and by the age of 18 was one of the top honorees of the NFAA International Jazz award, a IAJE Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All- Star and later a member of the Prestigious Kennedy Centers Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program.

He attended the New School University on scholarship and quickly became part of the New York and World music scene playing with bands led by great musicians and legends such as Billy Hart, Winard Harper, Brad Leali, George Cables, Bob Mover, Frank Lacy, Charli Persip, Bruce Barth, Junior Mance, Thomas Heberer (ICP), Robert Glasper, George Colligan, Victor Jones and Geri Allen. Just to name a few.

He also writes music for Film and TV. Some of his compositions can be heard on popular American TV shows as well commercials in U.S and in Canada. He is currently working on a score for a film by Domenica Cameron-Scorsese a very gifted and talented director.

Also In the non jazz realm of music, he has Produced/Composed music and recorded for The Last Poets- Umar Bin Hassan (Jerome Huling) solo project featuring members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Styles P, Common, Dead Prez, Roy Hargrove and many others.

Marcos has performed on four continents and eleven different countries worldwide with a diverse group of musicians from not just the US but from Germany,  The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Canada, Slovenia, Croatia, Japan, Australia, Greece, Mali, and Guinea.

Just some of his touring performances include Jazz festivals in Monterrey, CA Jazz   Festival, Montreaux Jazz festival-Switzerland, Montreal Jazz Festival-Canada, Umbria Jazz Festival-Italy, IAJE '06, '07, Ljubjana Jazz Festival-Slovenia, Cape Cod Jazz Festival and the JVC Jazz Festival- NYC.  Some of his top New York and World Club appearances include Dizzy's Club, Jazz Standard, Small's, 55 Bar, Sweet Rhythm, Blue Room-KC, Dazzle-Denver, Jamboree-Barcelona, New Morning, Sunset-Sunrise France, Underfarhtt-Germany, Birdseye-Switzerland, A-Train Germany, Blue Note Milan and NYC, Ronnie Scotts, Pizza Express-London, Body and Soul, Jazz Lovely-Japan, St. Nicks Pub, Minton's Playhouse-NYC, Bennetts Lane-Melbourne Australia, The Eliington- Perth, Australia and many more.


Marcos Varela's Current Projects have included and include:

Charli Persip Big Band-Supersound and Charli persip + 2

Billy Hart Sextet

Brad Leali Quartet

Winard Harper Sextet

Meilana Gillard's Fine Print

Bob Mover Quartet-Quintet

Steve Hall Quartet

Frank Lacy Quartet

Umar Bin Hassan (The Last Poets)

Lauren Sevian Quartet.

Geri Allen Trio/Quartet

Oren Etkin -Kelenia band (grammy nominated)

George Colligan Trio



Discography (incomplete):

Meilana Gillards Fine Print- Day One- Greg Osbys Inner Circle Music

Brad Leali With Strings- TCB Switzerland

Umar Bin Hassan (Last Poets)-Jerome Huling

Location

Houston-New York

Occupation

Jazz bassist

Music That Inspires Me

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Films I'll Watch More Than Once

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