Marty Isenberg's West Anderson Project Comes to The MAC

The Milford Arts Council (The MAC) is bringing Milford's own Marty Isenberg back to town with his Wes Anderson Project.

Born in Portland Oregon, Marty Isenberg moved to Milford at the age of 10 and attended Harborside Middle School and Foran High School. Marty said, "Milford might not be world-renown for its bustling music scene, but there are a lot of great musicians here, and I was extremely fortunate to be mentored and inspired by them. I am extraordinarily grateful for my first bass teacher Steve Buslow (who toured with Meatloaf), my high school band director Patrick Marino (who stayed after school almost every day to give band students free lessons on their instruments.) and my jazz mentor Jeff Fuller at ECA (The Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven) who really pushed me and inspired me to reach higher levels in my playing, as well as so many other peers and professionals who helped me in my formative years."

When asked about his connection to The MAC Marty said, "The MAC Endowment Committee also deserves credit for giving me a leg up in my career as a musician. I applied for a grant my junior year of high school, so that I could purchase a four-track recorder and make demos. I wrote this grant proposal myself, in the study hall on lined notebook paper. I had no experience writing grants, but the endowment committee somehow took me seriously and awarded me the grant. Making recordings on this four-track was a daily after school ritual for me and my friends in the years that followed.

When my mother moved out of her home in Milford in 2021, I had to remove all my old instruments, and memorabilia. In the basement I found the giant stack of cassette tapes recorded in these after school jam sessions. I took them all home and listened to many of them. They are as terrible as you can imagine, but there's also an undeniable vibe to them. Something honest, and brimming with love for the sheer joy of creating rebellious music, dreaming of a future far away, and experiencing that moment, that dream, with creative partners who were so deeply connected to each other by friendship. I cherish those experiences. All made possible by the MAC Endowment Committee."

Bassist Marty Isenberg is an endorsing artist for Aguilar Amps, DR Strings, Fender Guitars and Radial Engineering. He has performed for Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Kiss Me Kate, The Lion King, and Fun Home on Broadway and has toured internationally. He is the founder of the Clinton Hill Music School, a doctoral candidate at Stonybrook University and the host of the podcast 'Between the Gigs'. His career as a jazz musician began at age 12, when he decided to pick up his father's bass guitar after losing him to cancer the year prior. Playing music was both a cathartic healing experience for Mr. Isenberg as well as a way to feel connected to his father. After finishing college at New School University in 2008, Mr. Isenberg began his performing career leading his own 16-piece orchestra named 'MIBB'. He began to establish himself on the New York City jazz scene as a working bassist, notably headlining the El Salvador Jazz Festival in 2011 with the Dave Juarez Trio. His performing career weaves through many styles of music, from jazz, to classical, to theater and contemporary music. Mr. Isenberg pulls from all of these experiences to create unique original projects that are influenced by his eclectic tastes and career. Of Mr. Isenberg's work, Jazz historian Bill Kirchner declares, "Marty Isenberg goes where others fear to tread ''.

Wes Anderson has created a cinematic style that is deeply intimate and immersive. His musical scores often feel like a mixtape you would give to someone you have a crush on. It's through these films that bassist Marty Isenberg was introduced to some of the music that would become most influential to him: bands like the Velvet Underground, Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, and the Zombies. The Wes Anderson Project explores the repertoire of music in Anderson's films, rearranged for jazz instrumentation. This repertoire takes on a life of its own in the imaginative mind of Mr. Isenberg.

Meg Carriero, Marketing Specialist for the MAC explains, "It's always wonderful to see locals go on to create full lives for themselves in the arts. Marty had received a grant from The MAC back in highschool and it is an honor for us to bring him back "home" to showcase his Wes Anderson Project. If you love supporting hometown folk, if you're a friend of Marty's, if you love good music, or you love Wes Anderson films this is a night you do not want to miss."

Hosted by the Milford Arts Council Marty Isenberg's West Anderson Project will perform MAC LiVE at The MAC on April 9th at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now. For more information or to reserve your table please visit milfordarts.org. Additionally, The MAC Endowment Committee will be presenting Marty Isenberg to entertain and speak about his Wes Anderson Project on April 4th at Bin100 during a special wine dinner which will be hosted by Wines & More! You can register for the dinner by contacting Wines & More!

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!