Markus Rutz

Trumpeter, composer & bandleader

A musician from Chicago who composes with a melodious pen and plays with a bluesy feel and tone that has been called gorgeous.

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Markus & RUTZ MUSIC WORKS

Markus Rutz plays trumpet with bluesy, soulful style and a tone that has been called gorgeous.

The last few years have been years of achievement in mid-career activities of performances and recording with local and national honors. In autumn of 2019, the album Blueprints Figure One: Frameworks was released which had tracks that appears on a story from NPR’s Morning Edition. The album was in consideration for a Grammy nomination last year. Also in January 2020 an album release concert was played for a 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. Closer to home in Chicago was an honor or being selected as a representative of Chicago Music for the 2020 Year of Chicago Music.

A album live was released in December 2021 and features an exciting in- person performance side of Markus with a quintet.

The most recent release is Storybook. The work is a concept album that is a postcard from the musician as a personal contribution to the larger story we are all in at this point in time.

Partnering with musicians locally and from around the globe, he remains open- minded and curious through his musical journey benefiting from all that is new and unexpected.

Markus performs, composes and teaches music from his home base in Chicago, Illinois.

Booking for events & private occasions

Press / Reviews

Rutz's horn is warm and embracing in each setting, glistening on the more Spartan themes, making the various colors and textures presented here woven like a Raphael tapestry.” - George W Harris

— Jazz Weekly

It was Rutz’s delivery on the ballad “Very Marie” that made me think of Hargrove. Rutz, here, waxes lyrical in a way I hadn’t heard since Roy visited Chicago his last time. And the upper-registered, but serene, expression on one of the album’s two covers, a spritely “September in the Rain,” also struck me as Hargrove-like.” - Jeff Cebulski

— Chicago Jazz Magazine

audio & video

Press photos