Claudio Marquez

Born in Caracas Venezuela, Claudio Marquez grew up in a household full of music ranging from jazz to classical, including the sounds of South America and the Caribbean. After moving to the US at age of 7, he began to take interest in playing and took his first piano lesson at age 10. He took up the drums at age 13 and began playing in local North Carolina bands until he started studying at UNC-Chapel Hill for undergraduate, which is where he discovered jazz. There he studied jazz drums, piano, and at 19 he found the vibraphone through his first great teacher, Jon Metzger. Two years later, he applied to Berklee College of Music where he studied jazz Vibraphone/improvisation with Dave Samuels, Ed Saindon, Joe Lovano, Ed Tomassi, and Hal Crook. His studies at Berklee also included Afro-Cuban percussion/piano and arranging/composition.