Percy’s music career started one Christmas when mom and dad gave him a toy saxophone, he was about 7-8 years old. Percy played that sax as though it was
real. In Junior High he got his first real sax a Conn alto, he taught his self to play
before he learned to read music.
He played by ear, if he heard he could play it. Percy started playing with a group called little Joe and the Impacts, formed by the late Joe Worley, it soon became just the Impacts, Percy playing alto sax, Wali Ali (Billy Cooper) lead guitar, Fred Marion bass, Hopie Bronson B3 Hammond organ,
Wilburn Brooks on drums, also later was Roosevelt Collins on organ and Lonzo Franklin vocalist, they performed in places as Sandy’s Place, the Show Wagon and battle of the bands at the Music Box, sometimes their gigs took them to areas outside of Omaha, even outside of Nebraska but still in the surrounding area like Iowa and Missouri. Percy was inspired to further his interest and love for the sax
by his cousin Herbert Rich, Preston Love, Stemsey Hunter, Hank Redd and many others.
Percy also played with a band called Afro Brass with the Beck brothers Ronnie and Donnie. After Afro Brass, Percy began to play with L.A. Carnival/Ron Cooley, guitarist/Geno DeVaughn, trumpet/John Kirsch,trumpet/Michael Patterson, alto sax/Rick Chudacoff, bass/of course Percy Marion, tenor sax/Les Abrams, drummer/Leslie Smith, vocalist/and Arno Lucas vocalist and he played conga drums. Percy continued to perform with L.A. Carnival through out high school into his first year of college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, also learning to read and write music. While with L.A. Carnival, there was an album made, called “Would Like to Pose A Question”
Percy left L.A Carnival to continue his education, it was during the first two years of college his ability to read and write music exploded. Percy’s music professor Mr. Reginald Shives recommended the Berklee School of Music in Boston MA, advising Percy was far advanced beyond what UNO could offer him. Percy left Omaha in August of 1971 to attend the Berklee School of Music. While at Berklee, several big band leaders inquired about Percy and his talent for playing the sax, Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington. In Percy’s sophomore year during a recital, it was the Duke who made the connection with Percy and hired him as a temporary for the band. In his Junior and Senior year, Percy played with Duke only during his time out of school (Spring break, Summer vacation, Christmas break, he had the opportunity to travel and perform in places such as Ethiopia, while in Ethiopia, Percy received the highest honor of Ethiopia the Lion of Jupter
from the, King Hali Salassi. He was in London and performed before Queen Elizabeth at the Westminster Abbey, and there he received an honor from Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of the Royal Performance held at the London Palladium on Monday November 26, 1973. Percy also performed in Copenhagen, Japan, Amsterdam, Canada and throughout the U.S. He performed along with the
Ellington Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in the Summer of 1976.
Percy graduated from Berklee in May if 1975 an became a the permanent tenor sax
for the wind section, taking the place of Paul Gonsalves who had become ill and passed away. Shortly after Paul, the Duke himself passed away. Percy mastered several other wood wind instruments, the alto, soprano, tenor and baritone sax/the clarinet, the oboe, the flute an the piccolo, the only other instrument he played outside of the wood winds was the xylophone. I remember in July of 1976 the entire band came to Omaha, and we hosted a barbecue for the entire band, we were all proud of Percy’s achievements, he was a legend in his own time.
Percy was loved and was inspired by mostly everyone he came in contact with and
he shared the same. Some of the people he had the opportunity to meet and share the love of music with throughout his music career was greats such as Jimmy Heath, Dexter Gordon, Sunny Rawlings, George Clinton, Melba Moore, Ella Fitzgerald, Patrice Rushing, Lena Horne, Joe Williams, B.B.King the Champ himself Muhammad Ali.
Vincent York another jazz musician wrote in a reflection of being on tour with Duke Ellington “Once in Tokyo waiting for a train, he called Percy Tenor Man,
he says he and Percy took out their flutes and begin to play a flute duet. He said
before long they drew a crowd.
Other tributes to Percy came from Ricky Ford who did a Jazz Album entitled
The Jazz Sounds of Ricky Ford: and noted in Acknowledgment this album is dedicated to the memory of Percy Marion.
Preston Love did a tribute to Percy with the local news during the Grammy Awards in July 1977 when Duke Ellington’s Orchestra was nominated for Big Band Sound and won the Grammy the tribute was to one of Omaha’s own “Percy Marion. There were articles in the Jet Magazine, New Times, of course Percy lived in New York during his career with the Duke. Another article gave him front
page and again the by line was Preston Love in the Omaha Star, when he paid tribute to Percy and his career and the friendship they shared. Preston and Percy
shared a great respect for one another.
During his career Percy’s name was featured on albums listed as credits, such album as Eastbourne England concert at the Congressa Theatre performance featured Percy Marion tenor sax; Thire Sacred Concert at Westminister Abbey performance featured Percy Marion tenor sax: Duke Ellington in Sweden 1973
Percy Marion tenor sax: Duke & Orchestra Continuum, Percy Marion tenor sax and the flute: Duke Ellington & Orchestra Mood Indigo, Percy Marion tenor sax.
He wrote scores of songs, he wrote arrangements for the band. In 1976 Jimmy Carter was elected the President of the United States, The Duke Ellington Band played at his inauguration. Percy had came home for Christmas and ask the question, if I knew Hail to The Chief, I whistled the tune and he wrote the arrangement for the entire band. On January 20, 1977, The Duke Ellington band played for President Carter’s inauguration.
Percy had a dream to own his own recording studio, his dream was to make it a family business and give back to his roots and community, but his dream would never become a reality. On June 26, 1977 Percy passed away unexpectedly, in Anaheim CA while on tour with the Ellington Orchesta. Percy loved God, he love his family, he was a great man, a great father to his daughter Tiffany Louise and his son Percy Eugene, he was an awesome son and brother and most of all he was a great musician an awesome sax player. His motto in life was “Nothing beats a failure but a try”. All that he did in life, he did with integrity and excellence.
Linda Marion,
Jabir Abdullah,
Sister/Brother and Historians
