Marcos Varela is a bassist, musician, and composer based in New York City. He attended Houston’s High School for the Performing & Visual Arts, a celebrated magnet school with notable alumni including Jason Moran and Robert Glasper. As a professional, Varela is active in the New York music scene and has made a name for himself as one of the most in-demand bassists and composers worldwide. Varela released his debut album, San Ygnacio, on Origin Records. Varela led an All-Star band in performing the album at the historic Jazz á Liège Festival in Liège, Belgium, led an all-star quartet at Prishtina’s Jazz Week in Kosovo in March 2020, and was recently the opening act for the legendary Mavis Staples at Discovery Green in his hometown of Houston, Texas. Varela is an accomplished composer for several film and television projects, including director Domenica Cameron-Scorsese’s film Roots in Water, an official selection of the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.