Biography
Wendell Marshall earned his primary renown as a dependable bassist supporting Duke Ellington from 1948 through 1955, and he was the cousin of Jimmy Blanton. He studied at Lincoln University, completed Army service, and then spent several months alongside Stuff Smith. Marshall relocated to New York in 1948, where he first entered Mercer Ellington’s band before moving quickly to Duke’s orchestra; the seven-year period of road work that followed established his solid standing among peers. After leaving Ellington in 1955, he pursued freelance engagements that encompassed sessions with Mary Lou Williams, Art Blakey, Donald Byrd, Milt Jackson, and Hank Jones, among numerous others, before settling into steady employment in Broadway pit orchestras. Wendell Marshall withdrew from music altogether in 1968.