Marcos Varela began his musical life at the age of 17 playing bass while attending Houston' s High School For the Performing and Visual Arts. He quickly gained recognition in the Houston jazz scene and by the age of 18 was one of the top honorees of the NFAA International Jazz Award and a IAJE Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All-Star Fellow. Early musical success and recognition led Marcos to New York and to attending the New School University/Mannes School of Music on Scholarship as well as invitations to the Kennedy Centers Betty Carter Jazz Ahead and Rivinia-Steans Institute programs. His developing musical skills and expertise led him to begin performing with such artists as Billy Hart, Charli Persip, Martha Wainwright, Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets, Jason Moran, Mingus Big Band, Bill Lee, George Cables, Billy Harper, Bob Mover, Logan Richardson, Winard Harper, Clifton Anderson, Peter Zak, Oran Etkins-Kelenia, Edsel Gomez, Mark Shim, Ron Afif, E.J. Strickland, Bruce Barth, Junior Mance, Wayne Escoffery, Thomas Herberer of ICP, Ohad Talmor, Micheal Attias, Antonio Hart, Robert Glasper, George Colligan, Victor Jones, Kendrick Scott, Lew Tabackin and Geri Allen, to name a few. One of the highly regarded up and coming jazz bassists in New York City and the International Jazz and Music Scene, Marcos is also a respected film scorer, having composed music for films appearing in the Tribeca Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival, Prague Film Festival, Ft. Lauderdale Film festival, among others...in additon, He is also composed for TV and Documentary Film....His debut record will be out next year