TD Victoria JazzFest 2025: Marquis Hill: Composers Collective

Start: Thursday, June 26, 2025 8:30PM
End: Thursday, June 26, 2025 11:59PM

Chicago’s internationally renowned trumpeter, composer and bandleader Marquis Hill breaks down the barriers that divide musical genres. Contemporary and classic jazz, hip-hop, R&B, Chicago house, neo-soul—to Hill, they’re all essential elements of the profound African-American creative heritage he’s a part of. That mission to bring styles together, complemented by Hill’s absolute mastery of his instrument, can be heard on his albums The Way We Play (2016), Modern Flows Vol. II (2018), Love Tape (2019), Soul Sign (2020), and Rituals & Routines (2023). His sound is both deeply distinctive and a tour through jazz-trumpet history, evoking the high-drama stillness and space of Miles; the undeniable virtuosity of Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard; the groove savvy phrasing of Lee Morgan and Donald Byrd; and much more. After winning the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz prize in 2014, he became a presence on the global scene virtually overnight and earned first place in the “Rising Star–Trumpet” category in DownBeat’s Critics Poll in 2016. He has supported and guested with a who’s who of jazz that includes Marcus Miller, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Boney James, Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano and Hill’s trailblazing Chicago peer Makaya McCraven. Today, Hill maintains a nonstop touring schedule, and after appearing last at TD JazzFest 2019, now brings his 2024 album Composers Collective: Beyond the Jukebox to Victoria audiences.