Marilyn Mazur is best known for her association with Miles Davis, but she has actually played in many settings. Born in New York in 1955 to Polish and African-American parents, Mazur has lived in Denmark since she was six. She studied classical piano and dance - eventually switching to drums - and improvised music. Mazur is primarily autodidact, but she has taken a degree in percussion at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music. At the same time she worked locally and in 1985 was part of Palle Mikkelborg's recording of Aura with Davis. Soon afterward she began working with the legendary trumpeter (off and on from 1985-89) and then had stints with Gil Evans and Wayne Shorter. In 1989 she formed her band Future Song, and in 1991 she joined Jan Garbarek Group, with whom she tours extensively. In 2005 she recorded a solo-album with Jan Garbarek as a guest artist, released last year on ECM. The danish filmmaker Christian Braad Thomsen recorded a film about Marilyn Mazur and her music. In 1989, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2002 the american DOWN BEAT magazine had Marilyn Mazur selected as a percussion "talent deserving wider recognition", in their critics poll. Having received the Jazzpar Price in 2001, the Norwegian Telenor Culture Award in 2007 and the Ben Webster Prize by the Ben Webster Foundation, Mazur continues to perform with her bands Future Song, Percussion Paradise and Marilyn Mazur Group, including her trio projects with Per Jorgensen/Anders Jormin and Nils Petter Molvar/Dhafer Youssef.
