Marty Nau

Biography

Marty Nau is a highly active and sought after jazz alto saxophone player in the Washington DC Area. Starting on the clarinet when he was in the sixth grade, Marty soon gravitated towards the saxophone in the ninth grade, playing in both the junior high and senior high school jazz bands. Upon graduating from high school Marty enlisted in the Navy Music Program. After coming to the Washington DC area in 1980, he played with such big bands as the “Blues Alley Big Band”, Bill Potts Big Band Guy Lombardo, and others. He has performed with the National Symphony and Richmond Symphony and has backed up such performers as Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Daniels, Stanely Turrentine, Joe Williams, Rosemary Clooney, Ethel Ennis, Nancy Wilson, Maureen McGovern, Snooky Young, and many others. He can be heard on the Navy Commodores CD recording “Here and Now”. After playing lead alto and conducting for the Navy Commodores Marty retired in 1997.

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Currently Marty teaches jazz saxophone at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and leads the Marty Nau Quartet which has recorded three CDs under an independent label including the very well received “Strings Attached”, and is lead alto saxophonist with the Great American Music Ensemble under the direction of Doug Richards. Also a Selmer clinician Marty is active in performing jazz improvising clinics at the high school and college level.