Performances of groups led by Markus Rutz are musical experiences featuring talented professionals who partner with venues and events to create good feelings and an atmosphere of beauty through interesting harmonies, singable melodies and rhythmic excitement.
The band is quartet / quintet with the trumpeter as the lead or in combination with saxophonists from Chicago in the horn section.
The last few years have been years of achievement in performances and recording with local and national honors for the bands of Markus Rutz.
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 that year.
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.
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.
