Marcus Machado Brings Electric Lineage to SFJAZZ

At SFJAZZ’s Joe Henderson Lab, the Brooklyn-born guitarist brings a lineage-rich, groove-driven language to one of the Bay Area’s most intimate rooms—where funk, jazz, rock, and soul converge at close range.

See full show details and ticket information at the end of this feature.

Listen to the full conversation with Marcus Machado below.

Marcus Machado has spent most of his life immersed in amplified sound. Guitars were not introduced to him so much as discovered—lying on the floor of a Brooklyn home, waiting for a two-year-old to crawl toward them. From that early moment, a musical identity shaped by destiny emerged: Hendrix’s layered sonics of funk, the social force of hip-hop, and the elastic conversation of jazz. Over the past decade, that identity has carried Machado from studio sessions with Robert Glasper and Jon Batiste to global tours with Daniel Caesar and onto major stages, including Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl.

This week, that wide-screen résumé narrows into a different focus. Machado headlines his first Joe Henderson Lab appearance at SFJAZZ, bringing a trio of Bay Area collaborators into a room where proximity becomes part of the music. The performance arrives as he continues shaping new material in the studio, extending the aesthetic world he established on Aquarius Purple and Blue Diamonds—records that positioned the electric guitar as a melodic voice, a rhythmic engine, and a cultural archive.

Roots: A Brooklyn Room, A Hendrix Record

Machado’s earliest musical memories unfold less like practice sessions than awakenings. “The first thing that stood out to me most was my father playing me ‘EXP’ from Axis: Bold as Love,” he recalled. “If you know that song, it’s all these effects going all over. I was like, what is this?” He remembers Electric Ladylandlanding with similar force—records that framed the guitar as a portal rather than a tool.

By kindergarten, he was already performing “The Wind Cries Mary” at his graduation, feet dangling above the floor. Machado describes those moments with the clarity of someone who never separated play from purpose. “From that moment, it was just like—captivated,” he reflected. “That’s what I wanted to do.” What followed was not a straight line toward genre mastery but an expanding circle: Jimi Hendrix alongside Jaco Pastorius, D’Angelo alongside Prince. Those names formed a vocabulary—an orientation toward groove, tone, and emotional directness that continues to define his work.

A Record As Evolution

Machado resists the language of reinvention. His recent projects, including Blue Diamonds, feel to him like chapters rather than departures. “It’s just a continuation of those two albums and exploring as much as I can,” he explained from a Brooklyn studio, where new recordings are already taking shape. “Trying to take the guitar to the next level sonically… and just trying to get better as I go.”

That process lives at the intersection of curiosity and discipline. Machado speaks often about staying “hungry,” about protecting the beginner’s mindset even after accolades and marquee collaborations. “Guitar is an instrument you’ll never master,” he observed. “You can learn a lot, but there’s always something new. So, I always try to be a student.” His phrasing points to a philosophy grounded in listening: airports, unfamiliar cities, passing sounds becoming prompts and inspirations.

“Get By” And Survival Melody

Among the tracks that crystallize this approach, “Get By” occupies a special place. Recorded during the pandemic, the instrumental carries a melodic clarity shaped by social unease. Machado framed the piece as a response to the moment’s emotional weather. “Everything was really bad… George Floyd and all this stuff that was going on,” he remembered. “For me, it was like—just get by. Be aware of everything that’s going on.”

He describes the composition as “melody-driven” and “feel-good,” though those phrases register here as structural rather than sentimental. “Whatever you’re going through, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” Machado reflected, situating the guitar as witness.

Collaboration As Groove Science

Machado’s lineage thinking becomes most explicit when he talks about Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys period. “That was the first black funk rock group,” he explained, mapping a continuum from Buddy Miles and Billy Cox to Parliament-Funkadelic and beyond. “They were three people, and it sounded like a ten-piece band.”

That model also shaped “Black Psychedelic Funk,” a track whose origins stretch back more than a decade before finally reaching record. “You hear all the different influences,” Machado outlined. “That’s really my type of sound.”

Joe Henderson Lab: Proximity As Power

For Machado, the upcoming SFJAZZ appearance centers less on scale than on intimacy. “Some of the best shows are when it’s intimate, and the people are right in front of you,” he reflected. “Everybody’s zoned in, and you can really tap into that vibe.” He approaches the night with a flexible structure. “Once you get into the vibe, the mood can always change,” he explained. “It’s like a conversation.”

He arrives with a trio rooted in Bay Area soil: Uriah Duffy on bass and Damon Jamal Taylor on drums.

TICKET INFO

Marcus Machado appears at the SFJAZZ Center’s Joe Henderson Lab on Thursday, January 22, with sets at 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. He performs in a trio with Uriah Duffy (bass) and Damon Jamal Taylor (drums).

The evening offers a close-range view of a guitarist whose work treats groove as cultural memory and tone as narrative voice. In a room built for detail, Machado’s electric language becomes a shared space—one where lineage, curiosity, and present-tense energy converge.

Show Details

Marcus Machado at SFJAZZ Center – Joe Henderson Lab

Date: Thursday, January 22nd

Sets: 7:00 PM & 8:30 PM

Featuring: Uriah Duffy (bass) and Damon Jamal Taylor (drums) – both Bay Area musicians

Tickets: https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/25-26/marcus-machado

Limited edition vinyl available at the show, including Aquarius Purple and Blue Diamonds – each with a mystery color variant!

Photo credits: Ogata Photography (Black & White). Podcast image - Pritt Kalsi (Color) 

Links

Marcus Machado's Website: https://www.marcusmachado.com