Marty Ashby knows jazz inside and out. His organization is at the epicenter of the jazz world and is leading the industry forward. As Executive Producer of MCG Jazz, Marty has produced over 1,200 concerts in various cities and has created ten commercial albums, receiving three GRAMMY Awards from four nominations. Artists such as Nancy Wilson, Paquito D'Rivera, and The Count Basie Orchestra have all performed for and contributed to the success of the MCG Jazz label. The artists often devote their proceeds to MCG Jazz's parent organization, the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (MCG), a community arts and vocational training center in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
In this audio interview with Tim Zak, Marty charts his career from jazz musician in New York City, to director of orchestras in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and finally to his current role as director of one of the country's top jazz performance and recording venues. For Marty, the spirit of collaboration and improvisation that characterizes America's unique music form, jazz, also infuses the culture of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild itself.
Since 1987, Marty Ashby has been the Artistic Director of the Animal Crackers Jazz Series in Racine, Wisconsin, and for the last five years, was the Artistic Director of the Jazz on the Circle Series at Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio. Marty also produced the Jazz at Seven Springs Jazz Festival between 1988 and 2000. In the early 1980s, he produced the Ithaca Jazz Festival and the Boys Choir of Harlem Street Fair. Before coming to MCG, he worked in marketing and development departments of several major symphony orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
As a guitarist, Marty currently performs with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band and has performed and recorded with Nancy Wilson, Paquito D'Rivera, Slide Hampton, Louie Bellson, Herbie Mann, and others. He holds a BFA in Jazz Studies from Ithaca College and a Masters in Music from Duquesne University. He is also a voting member of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences and the Society of American Magicians.
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