On Apr. 11, Terraces Jazz Ensemble 1 had the privilege to have guest Marcus Printup help them practice and rehearse for their upcoming Essentially Ellington Jazz band competition in New York City.

Marcus is a professional musician who plays trumpet. He has been playing since the age of 10 and he’s been playing the trumpet for 35 years now.

Printup says that he loves playing the trumpet and loves his job. As a young growing musician, Marcus grew to love what he did and didn’t decide he wanted to be a professional musician until he was about 23 years old.

Marcus had the honor of meeting and then playing with Wynton Marsalis and in 1993, Marcus joined the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

When he joined the band, it consisted of players that had been in Duke Ellington’s orchestra from the 1970’s and 1980’s. He has been in the Orchestra for 19 years now.

Marcus tours around the world with them and does gigs at the Jazz Ellington Center. He enjoys the trips with the orchestra because they are interesting and he does what he likes to do.

Printup says that now in the band, he is one of the middle-aged men teaching the younger guys what to do and what not to do.

He has had great experiences with the band and enjoys being around them and he also says often times he sees the band more often than he sees his own family. It wasn’t easy to become so successful. It took practice, hard work, dedication, passion and desire to get him to where he is now.

During the practice with Terrace, the experience helped the jazz ensemble 1 see things differently. Also, they worked on their skills and keeping a steady beat. “We have a different attitude about things” freshman Joseph Walrath had said.

Marcus helping out has been beneficial because the students were allowed to get help from a professional and ask many questions before the actual competition.