“The soul of Ayiti finds voice in his trained fingers.”
Markus Schwartz
“A stalwart of the Vodou-jazz scene.”
Born in Copenhagen Denmark, Grammy-nominated percussionist, recording artist and educator Markus Schwartz has devoted more than twenty-five years to learning the wealth and complexity of traditional Haitian religious music. Moving in and out of Haiti since the early 1990s, Markus followed the lead of Haitian percussionists on pilgrimages into the countryside to learn the intricate and powerful drumming styles of the various lakou—historic religious compounds—such as Badjo, Soukri and Souvenance.
Settling in Brooklyn in the late 1990's, Markus became a sought-after drummer at Haitian religious ceremonies, and was instrumental in creating the ground-breaking Haitian Jazz quintet Mozayik, bringing his informed arrangements of Vodou rhythms to jazz standards, Haitian traditional songs and Mozayik’s original compositions. He has since become a first-call percussionist on the NYC Haitian music scene, performing and recording with a diverse array of artists across many genres.
With an extensive discography as a featured artist on myriad projects, Markus has released four seminal recordings as a leader thus far; Tanbou nan Lakou Brooklyn (2008), Equinox (2011), Vo-Duo Nou La (w/ Monvelyno Alexis, 2013), and most recently Kay Sa (2019), the second Lakou Brooklyn Quartet recording on the audiophile Soundkeeper Recordings label. Current projects include his own ongoing band Lakou Brooklyn Quartet, as well as membership in Grammy-winning saxophonist David Sanchez' Carib project, (nominated for a 2019 Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album) and We All Break, led by the iconic drummer Ches Smith, along with pianist Matt Mitchell and Haitian master drummer Daniel Brevil. Markus maintains an active freelance schedule as well, appearing locally and abroad with a host of talented artists from the Haitian community and beyond.