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Marcus Belgrave was born June 12, 1936 in Chester, Pennsylvania and was tutored on trumpet by Clifford Brown when he was 17. Belgrave toured with Ray Charles from 1954-59 and later played with Charles Mingus and Max Roach.

In 1963 Marcus moved to Detroit and established himself as an educator and studio musician. He has recorded with Motown and Blue Note Record labels, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and a host of other luminaries in jazz.

His reputation as a clinician and instructor led Marcus to cultivate young jazz talent over the years like Regina Carter, Rodney Whitaker, Kenny Garrett, James Carter, Geri Allen, Bob Hurst, Carlos McKinney and Karriem Riggins.

In 2006 he lent his expertise to the Young Musicians Program (YMP) summer program at the University of California Berkeley helping out student with coaching and private lessons. He was a frequent faculty member at Stanford Jazz Workshop and was a visiting professor of jazz trumpet at the Oberlin Conservatory.

Trumpeter Marcus Belgrave transitioned on May 23, 2015, in Ann Arbor, Michigan of heart failure after being hospitalized since April with complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.

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