Music Network presents master percussionist and musical visionary Marilyn Mazur with her Marilyn Mazur Special 4.

Delve into an adventurous world of multicoloured moods, lively energies, dreamy soundscapes, strong melodies and lots of rhythm. With Mazur performing on a mesmerising array of gongs, bells and all things percussion, the Special 4 lineup is completed by the exceptionally talented Jakob Buchanan on flugelhorn, pianist Makiko Hirabayashi and Klavs Hovman on double bass.

Celebrated percussionist composer, bandleader and world music pioneer Marilyn Mazur has shared the stage with some of the most important figures in the history of jazz. Noted for her work during the ‘80s as a touring member of the Tutu-era Miles Davis band, and through the ‘90s with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, Mazur has also led many cutting edge ensembles throughout her career.

Throughout her distinguished career, Mazur has received many international music awards and worked with artists and ensembles including Gil Evans/Laurent Cugny Big Band, Lumiere, the Wayne Shorter Quintet, Bobo Stenson, John Tchicai, Jon Balke, Irene Schweizer, Peter Kowald, Arild Andersen, Christy Doran, Marilyn Crispell, Eliane Elias and Marc Johnson, Nils Petter Molvaer, Norma Winstone and Pierre Dørge’s New Jungle Orchestra.

Come and experience this sensational quartet live on their first visit to Ireland.

Jakob Buchanan – flugelhorn
Makiko Hirabayashi – piano
Klavs Hovman – double bass
Marilyn Mazur – percussion & drums

About the Musicians

Drummer, composer, bandleader and world music pioneer Marilyn Mazur has, over the course of five decades, established herself as a master percussionist and musical visionary. Noted for her side woman work during the ‘80s as a touring member of the Tutu-era Miles Davis band, and through the ‘90s with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, Mazur has also led many cutting edge ensembles throughout her career, including the Marilyn Mazur Group, Celestial Circle, Mystic Family, Spirit Cave, Future Song, Special 4, Percussion Paradise and the adventurous Shamania, a gathering of ten of Scandinavia’s most inventive and respected female musicians.

Born in New York City in 1955 and of Polish and African-American descent, Mazur has lived in Denmark since age six. Although she studied classical percussion at The Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen, she is primarily self-taught on many instruments, drawing inspiration from music all over the world. Having formed her first band Zirenes in 1973 as a pianist/composer, by 1975 Mazur was much in demand as a percussionist, drummer and singer. In 1983, she received The Ben Webster Award and formed the jazz quartet MM4 with saxophonist Uffe Markussen. Since then, Mazur has continued to develop her uniquely personal musical vision with various kindred spirits.

Having toured with the Miles Davis Band for long stretches of time during the late ‘80s, Mazur’s tenure with Davis was documented on the posthumous 1996 Warner Bros. release Live Around The World. In 1986, she toured with the Gil Evans/Laurent Cugny Big Band, Lumiere, and recorded on their two EmArcy albums, Rhythm-a-ning and Golden Hair. In addition to playing a world tour with the Wayne Shorter Quintet, other outstanding musicians Mazur has worked with include Bobo Stenson, John Tchicai, Jon Balke, Irene Schweizer, Peter Kowald, Arild Andersen, Christy Doran, Marilyn Crispell, Eliane Elias and Marc Johnson, Nils Petter Molvaer, Norma Winstone and Pierre Dørge’s New Jungle Orchestra.

Throughout her distinguished career, Mazur has received many Danish and international music awards including the Deutscher Jazzpreis, Jazzparprize, Wilhelm Hansen Foundation’s Honorary Award and Composer Prize, International Eurocore’s JTI Jazz Award and the Telenor Culture Award.

Jakob Buchanan is a flugelhorn player and composer of exceptional ability. He has toured extensively throughout Europe, USA and Canada wowing audiences with his warm, lyrical and engaging sound. He also devotes time to shaping the next generation of Danish artists at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark where he teaches trumpet and composition. The release of his acclaimed album Requiem, which received two Danish Music Awards (Jazz release of the Year and Composer of the Year) and a Jazznyt Award, confirmed Buchanan’s status as a leading player and an exciting, new voice in Danish orchestral music.

Pianist and composer Makiko Hirabayashi has received widespread critical acclaim on the international jazz scene since the release of her debut album Makiko in 2006. Throughout the last two decades, she has toured extensively in Europe and Asia with her trio featuring Marilyn Mazur and Klavs Hovman, her quartet Weavers and as a solo pianist. Her recent album Meteora was listed amongst The Best Albums of 2023 by Downbeat Magazine.

Born in Denmark in 1957, double bassist Klavs Hovman is known for his versatility, rhythmic groove, improvisatory skills and the balance his playing style brings to complex music. He is Mazur’s longtime musical partner and has also collaborated with such exceptional artists as Lee Konitz, John Abercrombie, Ernie Wilkins’ Almost Big Band and Etta Cameron. Hovman was also a member of the popular Danish rock group Savage Rose.