Marc Wagnon was born in Switzerland where he started studying music at an early age on the piano. His first taste of being a percussionist was by playing the drum in marching band. At the age of fifteen he got his first drum set and formed his own band for which he composed music and lyrics much influenced by the British progressive rock scene of the 70's (King Crimson, Soft Machine, Led Zeppelin) and others.
He went on to study classical percussion at the Geneva Conservatory where he studied for five years; during those years he participated in many local bands, theater and dance projects as a percussionist. He became attracted to the vibraphone as well as increasingly drawn to jazz and jazz-rock, inspired by artists such as Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Marc went on to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for a year, where he furthered his mallet technique and composition technique. He also met some great like-minded musicians in Dave Douglas and Dave Kikowski and decided to go down to New York City to have a taste of the real thing. In New York Marc took private conga lessons with the late Frankie Malabe and joined a Brazilian percussion group where he became familiarized with Latin American rhythms. He has continuously been studying ethnic rhythms from West Africa to South America.
Marc co-founded the band Dr. Nerve with guitarist Nick Didkowski, which went on to record 7 albums. He then went his own way to start his band Shadowlines, which was stylistically closer to his musical vision and released two CDs: "Shadowlines" and "An Afterthought". Marc's style developed in both composition and free improvisation in working with numerous musicians in the downtown New York scene.
In the early 90's Marc founded the group Tunnels with world-renowned bassist Percy Jones, releasing three critically acclaimed CDs from 1994 to 2002, and this year a live recording. Tunnels has performed all over the world and is just back from a successful tour in Japan. Marc is also featured on "Manifest Destiny", a CD with the legendary English band Brand X .
Marc has been a teacher for the past fifteen years, most notably with visually impaired musicians at the Lighthouse Music School. He teaches drums, percussion, sequencing and theory, both privately and with group classes to the visually impaired. Marc also has visited the EJMA jazz school in Lausanne, Switzerland five times as a guest artist, working with a student jazz ensemble for a weeklong clinic, teaching and performing his compositions with free improvisation.
Marc is also involved with the group Nuove Musiche with singer Sarah Pillow, which put together two ambitious CDs mixing jazz, R&B and early baroque music with guitarist John Goodsall. They have toured the east coast and mid-west of the U.S.
Marc’s latest solo release with drummer Mike Clark and bass player Paul Jackson is called "Conjunction". It was released in 2001, and features four original compositions from Marc.
Marc and Sarah Pillow created Buckyball Music, a music service company and record label designed to bring musicians together on a variety of levels in performing, teaching, exchanging ideas and sound creation, as well as exploring the connection between music and science.
Buckyball Music
P.O. Box 2034
Radio City Sation
NY, NY 10101
phone: 1-212-333-5812
fax: 1-212-333-5813
info@buckyballmusic.com