The musician’s musician.

“Marcus knew that the pursuit of fame & fortune and the desires of the ego was a dead end.“

- Don Was, Producer & Bassist

“I want the world to know he was a Class A musician at the top of his game. It doesn’t get any higher.“

- Ray Parker Jr., Singer/Songwriter

“When I’m playing, I’m trying to play like him, evoking that same soul and feeling.“

- Wynton Marsalis, Trumpet Legend

Sunne Side Productions is proud to produce Timashion Jones’s portrait of a man whose reputation among his peers was unparalleled. Told through the words of his fellow musicians, his loved ones, and his students, “Introducing… Marcus Belgrave” is a portrayal of a man who quietly shifted the world of Black American Music from behind the scenes.

As a young man, Marcus Belgrave practiced relentlessly under the tutelage of his father, a working musician who emphasized the importance that the role music and entertainment played in their community. He was quickly scooped up by Ray Charles, recording and touring with his legendary ‘50s lineup. He left the band in the early sixties, making a quick stop in New York City where he learned that some of the hardest working musicians he met in the Big Apple were actually based in Detroit. Inspired, he quickly moved again, this time to the Motor City.

Upon arrival, Belgrave was absorbed into the Motown house band as a trumpet player, while still maintaining a healthy touring schedule with major figures from the ‘60s jazz and R&B scene. Despite going uncredited, he had a major role in singles by the Four Tops, the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and Marvin Gaye.

In 1967, Detroit was in turmoil. For years, local police had abused the system through their racist actions towards the city’s black majority, and growing civil unrest spilled into the streets after a widely publicized incident ignited protests, provoking military intervention. The ensuing days resulted in a massive shift in the city’s dynamics: white residents ran for the suburbs, police support for the remaining populace strained, and businesses either shuddered or moved to new towns, including Motown. Opportunities for Belgrave to move to other cities quickly became evident, but he decided to permanently take root in the Detroit.

From that point, Belgrave became one of Detroit’s artistic champions, starting multiple programs for music education that streamlined generations of players from Belgrave’s incubator to the international music scene. He continued to record, partnering with musicians throughout the musical spectrum, from jazz funk to post-punk, from techno to hip hop, becoming the symbol of Detroit’s continued relevancy as a destination for Black American Music.

While he watched his contemporaries gain greater commercial success in other areas of the country, Belgrave’s dedication to his artform and its future players resulted in a legacy not measured in dollars, but in the continued quality of music. Like his father, he believed in the importance of art and entertainment in his community, and in turn influenced dozens of musicians to carry that legacy into the decades ahead.

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