William "Billy" Marcus

William "Billy" Marcus, of St. Petersburg, Florida, passed away on February 3, 2026, at the age of 78. He was born May 20, 1947, in Hyannis, Massachusetts, the son of William Marcus and the great "stride" pianist Marie Marcus. As a young man, Billy grew up in South Beach, Miami, and spent his teenage years back in Massachusetts, where he graduated from Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. He attended University of Massachusetts Amherst and began his professional music career in 1968 in the Boston and Cape Cod area, working with the iconic cornetist Bobby Hackett. In 1974, Billy moved to Miami, where he formed his own quartets and quintets and quickly became known as Miami's favorite son. He performed regularly on live radio and television broadcasts and appeared at all of Miami and South Florida's major festivals. In 1982, he was named Miami's Best Musician by Miami/South Florida Magazine and was inducted into the South Florida Music Hall of Fame. Marcus held residency engagements in New York, Boston, France, and Switzerland, as well as internationally at the Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai, China, and for 18 months at the Grand Hyatt in Dubai, U.A.E. He appeared at dozens of jazz festivals, including the North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Toronto Jazz Festival (Canada), Monterey Jazz Festival (California), New Orleans Jazz Festival (Louisiana), Miami Jazz Festival (Florida), and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (Washington). Leading his own house band, Billy backed up many of jazz's greats, including Scott Hamilton, Al Grey, James Moody, Jack Sheldon, Pepper Adams, Mark Murphy, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Kai Winding, Terry Gibbs, Richie Cole, Buddy DeFranco, and many others. Billy moved to St Petersburg, FL, to spend time with his sisters and ended up staying. He was kind, laid back and humble. He leaves behind his beloved sisters Barbara Marcus and Mary (Kevin) Liles, many nieces, nephews and cousins and his adoring fans around the world. Billy left a mark in the jazz world and will forever be remembered for his energy, talent and charisma.