Brent Marquez

Playing styles from Country to Jazz, Rock to Broadway, Classical/Orchestral, Big Band or Latin and more, Brent Marquez has had almost 20 years of professional performing experience as a drummer and percussionist. Having performed in venues ranging from small jazz clubs and recording studios to large auditoriums and concert halls, Brent is a seasoned, versatile player who can sight read music, improvise and adapt to many different musical situations and settings.

Brent was born in 1982 in Ohio and started playing drums at 6 years old in the basement of his parent's house. He started taking drum lessons at age 10 and continued studying music through and beyond high school with members of the Cleveland Orchestra and later on, world renowned, respected Berklee College of Music faculty members such as Kenwood Dennard and Skip Hadden among others. His college music education began in Cleveland at Tri-C Metro on full scholarship where the faculty included tenor sax legend Ernie Krivda and other respected Cleveland musicians and teachers. He then continued at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA on a tuition talent based scholarship where he graduated Cum Laude in 2005 with a Bachelor's in Performance. While in Boston, in addition to drumset performance, Brent studied conducting and classical percussion.

After graduating from Berklee, because of strong abilities in reading music and playing different styles, he was hired as a staff rhythm section accompanist to play for vocal classes and concerts at the college, while at the same time he freelanced very actively in Boston, being hired to play with the U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty, various local orchestras, jazz combos with artists including Anders Vercelli and Steve Heck, for numerous broadway musical productions and professional general business bands.

In 2008 Brent joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra and for two years went on tour all over the U.S., Canada, and Japan playing huge auditoriums and concert halls including Seattle's Benaroya Hall, Tokyo's Suntory Hall, and at Place des Arts Montreal where the band closed the Montreal Jazz Fest (2008) to over 6,000 people.

In the past he has also performed in Cleveland regularly with musical entertainer Ron Ellington Shy, who is Duke Ellington's nephew and a former member of the Coasters and Drifters. Brent has been recorded on a number of albums in studios including the famous Suma Recording Studio, performing drum tracks for multiple artists in various musical styles. He has had years of experience working on cruise lines and touring around the world performing as the main theater orchestra drummer on 5-star luxury cruise ships playing in Broadway, Vegas and Cirque style production shows in addition to sight-reading shows for various guest entertainers. Brent is currently based in Branson, Missouri where he performs regularly with groups such as the Lori Locke Band, and has played for theater shows such as AYO with the Voices of Glory.

His other interests include traveling and some of the finer things in life.