Marcus Belgrave, jazz trumpeter, dies at age of 78

Marcus Belgrave, a jazz trumpeter who graced stages and studios with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Cocker and Motown artists galore, has died. He was 78.

Belgrave came to Detroit in 1962 and became a studio musician for Motown Records, playing on hits including My Girl and Dancing in the Street.

Hazelette Crosby-Robinson, a cousin of Belgrave’s wife Joan Belgrave, said the musician died on Sunday at an Ann Arbor care facility. The cause of death was heart failure.

Belgrave remained active on the Detroit and international jazz scenes up until his death. He started playing professionally at 12 and joined the Ray Charles Band in the late 1950s.

He became an original member of Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in 1988, at the request of Wynton Marsalis, and in 2006 was featured at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s presentation, Detroit: Motor City Jazz.

He also was a prolific mentor and teacher, serving as a professor or visiting artist at institutions including Detroit-area schools, Michigan State University, Stanford University, University of California and Oberlin College.

In 2009, he received the Kresge Foundation’s Eminent Artist award, honoring nationally acclaimed artists who have pursued careers in Detroit. In a special book the philanthropic foundation published at that time, Belgrave said: “After 65 years of letting the music live through you, it just comes to you.”