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Markus Rutz Quintet is an ensemble of musicians from Chicago who play together with a cohesive and sympathetic group dynamic performing originals, standards and popular themes.

Markus Rutz - trumpet & composition

Arman Sangalang - alto saxophone

Adrian Ruiz - piano

Kurt Schweitz - bass

Josh Ross - drums

The band, ready to hit the stage at Merriman’s Playhouse, was formed with Markus and pianist Ruiz as a core member in 2016. In recent years Joshua Ross and Kurt Schweitz has joined for occasions in and around Chicago. This night will be the debut performance by Arman Sangalang with the band.

In May 2021 they performed in Chicago and brought a debut of The Rose Rhapsody Suite which is a reimagining and arrangement of themes from Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. The origin of this suite is a commission by The Rose Theatre Co. from Washington DC. Markus has since been appointed composer-in- residence for the organization. Material from this suite, plus other selections, was recorded live at Merrimans' Playhouse in September of 2021, and can be heard through this link:  https://rutzmusicworks.com/album/2292263/one-night-in-september-live-from-merrimans-playhouse

The most recent album called Storybook was released in February 2023 from JMARQ Records in Chicago.  https://rutzmusicworks.com/more-about-storybook

ALBUMS:  https://rutzmusicworks.com/recordings

WEBSITE: https://rutzmusicworks.com

SIGN UP:  https://rutzmusicworks.com/in-the-loop

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/FGvUW8kHFlU?si=pZXw9AKC3BRemX1b

For over three decades, the musical discoveries continue for Chicago-born jazz composer and trumpeter, Markus Rutz. For the most recent 13 years, Markus has been a band leader on the Chicago music scene playing with many musicians in the city and with an emphasis on performing original compositions and arrangements. Applying guiding principles learned from mentors and former professors Richard Davis, Ellis Marsalis and Harold Batiste, Markus has assembled groups for recording and performances that feature musicians from Chicago, New York and his early adult years in New Orleans. The most recent three years have been years of achievement in mid-career activities of performances and recording with local and national honors. In autumn of 2019, my album Blueprints Figure One: Frameworks was released which had tracks that appeared on a story from NPR’s Morning Edition. The album was in consideration for a Grammy nomination last year. Also last year in January an album release concert was played for my New York City performance debut. The second volume of music from the project was released in September 2020 as Blueprints Figure Two: New Designs. Album recognition and reviews were accompanied by several radio interviews and global radio features notably in France and Germany. Blueprints Figure One: Frameworks  received the high honor of a nomination consideration for a Grammy award. Industry reviews from Jazz Weekly, Dusty Groove and Chicago Jazz Magazine also lauded the compositional, performances, and band arrangements from the records.

Saxophonist and composer Arman Sangalang has been garnering attention as one of the up-and-coming jazz musicians in the Chicago music scene. As a bandleader, he currently leads the Arman Sangalang Quartet which feature his compositions that are informed by jazz, folk, and improvised music. His debut record “Quartet” was released on August 4th, 2023 on Calligram Records. He has performed at venues throughout Chicago like The Green Mill, Fulton Street Collective, The California Clipper, The Whistler, Elastic Arts, Cafe Mustache, the Epiphany Center for the Arts and the Logan Center for the Arts. Arman has also received various accolades in the last few years. In 2023, he was selected to be a part of the Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency in Delaware. In 2022, IRIS, a quintet formed by Arman, was one of four groups across the U.S. selected for the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy.The same year, Arman was also the awardee of the Jazz Institute of Chicago's JAzz Links Fellowship rogram.

Adrian Joel Ruiz was born July 29 in Chicago, IL. He started playing piano at the age of 16 in his high school Jazz Band which is where he discovered his passion for music. He won the Ravinia Jazz Scholar award his junior and senior year in high school. He studied with Chicago's own Willie Pickens, who was the pianist for Elvin Jones. Adrian started playing professionally at the age of 19 and since then has become one of the youngest professional performers in Chicago while still attending college for premedical studies. He has done recordings with many artists, Vincent Gardner being his favorite. Already having shared the stage with Frank Catalano, Von Freeman, Luis 'Perico' Ortiz, Bobby Broom, Brenda K. Starr, Van Lester, Willie Garcia, Jesse Charbonier, Ernie Adams, Frankie Vazquez, Alison Ruble, The Drifters, Kayvan Vega, Joan Collaso, Papo Cocote, Tony Vega, Los Bandoleros, Victor Miranda, and the Grammy Nominated Angel Melendez and his Mambo 911 Orchestra, Grammy Winners Roberto Vizcaino, and Raul Pineda, to name a few, he looks forward to continuing his passion.

Kurt Schweitz has been playing various musical instruments since age 4 but didn’t begin to consider a career in music until moving to Chicago to pursue a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Chicago. Kurt has performed internationally on stages in London, Paris,at the Aberdeen Jazz Festival in Scotland, La Mercé Festival in Barcelona, and at the Booey Lehoo Arts Festival in Beijing.  Back home, his schedule has included performances at the Pritzker Pavillion in Millenium Park, the Chicago Jazz Festival, South Shore Cultural Festival, Meet the Composer, Chicago Humanities Festival, Asian-American Jazz Festival, Milwaukee Jazz in the Park Festival. Kurt has played over 3,000 club and event dates in Chicago and elsewhere, has performed with local orchestras like the Rockford Symphony, and appears on dozens of local jazz and pop/rock recordings.  In addition to bass, he occasionally performs on piano, cello, viola, and through live programmed sounds. As a composer, Kurt’s work is regularly commissioned for dance, theatre, and film. He received Individual Artist grants from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events in 2015 and 2009, as well as a 2011 Individual Artist grant from the Illinois Arts Council for his original work.  As a regularly performer in jazz, rock, and classical music, Kurt’s music uses these influences to contemporaneously the deep roots of these musical genres into a cohesive whole. As an actor, Kurt had a recurring co-star role on season 4 of Empire (Fox), as the character “Ron”.  He is represented by Big Mouth Talent, Inc.

Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Joshua Ross has been playing drums since the age of 2. Along with his twin brother Vibraphonist Joel Ross, he attended the Chicago High Schools of the Arts from 2009-2013, where he established himself as one of the city’s best young musicians. He has had the opportunity to play with many jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock, Sean Jones, Gerald Clayton, Nicole Mitchell, Benny Green and many others. He is currently a working musician playing with many artists in the Chicago area, along with playing with his own group Mxmrys (“Memories”).

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from the Wells Fargo Philanthropic Services Private Trust Foundations, which include grants from the Stanley A. and Flora P. Clark Memorial Community Trust Foundation (2020-2021; 2022-2023 seasons), the John, Anna, and Martha Jane Fields Memorial Trust Foundation (2021-2022; 2022-2023 seasons), and the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust (2021-2022; 2022-2023 season). Special concert event support provided by the Arts Midwest Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund grant (2022-2023 season). Activities are made possible in part by the Arts Organization Support (AOS), Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency (2023-2024 season).

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from The Esther and George Jaruga Charitable Foundation (2020-2023 seasons).

The Student and Home Grown Series concerts made possible, in part, with support from the ArtsEverywhere Grant from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, and the Arts Project Support Grant and the Arts Recovery Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission.