Contemporary jazz-rock fusion outfit Marbin began in 2007 in Israel as a duo featuring saxophonist Danny Markovitch and guitarist Dani Rabin. The pair relocated to the Chicago area, and recorded an eponymous debut album that was released in 2009. They also met Pat Metheny Group drummer Paul Wertico and were invited to collaborate with Wertico in his Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance ensemble, which released the album Impressions of a City the same year as Marbin's debut. Wertico and bassist Steve Rodby -- also a Pat Metheny Group alumnus -- then joined Markovitch and Rabin in a quartet lineup of Marbin, which signed to Leonardo Pavkovic's MoonJune imprint and recorded the album Breaking the Cycle, issued by MoonJune in 2011. In addition to the core quartet of Markovitch, Rabin, Wertico, and Rodby, Breaking the Cycle featured guest appearances by percussionist Jamey Haddad; drummer Makaya McCraven; and vocalists Leslie Beukelman, Matt Davidson, and Daniel White. Marbin's sophomore release for MoonJune, Last Chapter of Dreaming, arrived in early 2013, and featured a new lineup of Markovitch and Rabin with drummer Justyn Lawrence and bassist Jae Gentile; Wertico and Rodby appeared as guests, along with percussionists Haddad and Zohar Fresco. The quartet of Markovitch, Rabin, Lawrence, and Gentile next appeared on the live album The Third Set, released by MoonJune in September 2014. The studio album Aggressive Hippies, featuring Rabin and Markovitch joined by drummer Greg Essig and bassist John W. Lauler, arrived in October of the following year. ~ Dave Lynch