Biography
Marty Marsala, the younger sibling of clarinetist Joe Marsala, earned recognition as a reliable journeyman trumpeter who shone brightest inside loose Dixieland frameworks. He began his musical life on drums, performing around Chicago in ensembles fronted by Red Feilen and Joe Bananas before switching instruments at the close of the 1920s. Steady club work followed, yet he remained largely unnoticed until relocating to New York in 1936 and cutting sides alongside his brother. A brief 1937 stint with Will Hudson’s Orchestra gave way to several years in Joe’s group, which included harpist Adele Girard, lasting until 1941. During that period Marsala also fronted a band at Nick’s. Subsequent engagements took him into Chico Marx’s orchestra from 1942 to 1943, followed by Army service spanning 1944 and 1945; he returned briefly to Joe’s fold later that year. Additional associations included work alongside Miff Mole and Tony Parenti, while he simultaneously directed his own small groups. The mid-1950s found him settling in San Francisco, where he performed occasionally with Kid Ory and, more regularly, with Earl Hines. Declining health curtailed his activity from the late 1950s onward, though he continued sporadic appearances until withdrawing from the scene in 1965. Recording sessions placed him with Joe in 1937–41 and again in 1945, as well as with Tempo King in 1936–37, Bob Howard in 1937, Eddie Condon, Kid Ory, and Earl Hines, yet he never headed a date under his own name.