Coming from a family of musicians - including his father (pianist Edwin Harold Marshall Sr.) and uncle (bassist Linwood "Uncle Cookie" Cook) -- in Springfield Massachustetts, Edwin "Eddie" Marshall is acknowledged as a leading figure in the evolution of San Francisco's contemporary jazz sound.



For almost fifty years Eddie Marshall played drums with nearly every major name in jazz, from Freddie Hubbard, Jon Hendricks and Dexter Gordon to Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Eddie Harris.



During the seventies Eddie Marshall was the designated house drummer at San Francisco's famed nightclub, Keystone Korner. His most long-standing musical associations have been with Toshiko Akiyoshi, with whom he has played since 1958, the late Stan Getz, Bobby Hutcherson and Bobby McFerrin. He co-founded with Mike Nock the seminal jazz fusion group, The Fourth Way. Since 1989 Marshall has also been performing on the alto and soprano recorders, working within a large variety of ensemble arrangements.



While playing with many of the greatest jazz musicians of his day, Eddie Marshall has also greatly distinguished himself as a composer. His original work is appreciated for both its driving intensity and melodic lyrical quality. His music reflects his collaboration with the strong group of modern bebop players that has emerged from the Bay Area for whom Marshall has served as a mentor. In celebration of his 60th year, he produced on his Ruddy Duck label his second album of original music, Holy Mischief, which features bassist, Jeff Chambers, and the dynamic young saxophonist, Kenny Brooks.



A consummate sideman, Eddie Marshall is in continual demand. In recent years he has performed internationally with Bobby McFerrin's group, BANG ZOOM, appearing in concert with The Israeli Philharmonic; with Marlena Shaw, Marian McPartland, Charles Lloyd, Art Lande and Rufus Reid; with Bobby Hutcherson and Cedar Walton at Russian River and with Jon Jang and James Newton in Beijing. He backed Sam Rivers and Julian Priester at Yoshi's in Oakland and was reunited with Mike Nock for the Wangaratta Jazz Festival in Australia. He travels to Japan almost annually with Toshiko Akiyoshi's trio and was featured in a tribute to percussionists at the 1999 Monterey Jazz Festival.



Since 1981 Eddie Marshall has maintained an active teaching schedule in addition to his busy performance career. He has taught traps, jazz theory, composition and small and big band arranging at both Rhythmic Concepts Jazz Camp and The Stanford Jazz Workshop since 1984. Since 1990 he has been part of the San Francisco Symphony's Adventures in Music series within the public schools. Until recently a faculty member of San Francisco State University's Music Department, he now teaches ensemble classes using his original compositions at The Jazz School in Berkeley. In January 2000 Eddie Marshall was appointed to the Music Chair of the San Francisco Arts Commission.



On November 2, 2000 the San Francisco Jazz Festival honored Eddie Marshall in a special tribute. Joining him on stage in performance were Bobby McFerrin, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard and the Fourth Way, as well as his own Holy Mischief band.