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First Posted: 7/22/2014 A majority of music that people associate with today consists of heavy metal, rap, hip-hop, R&B, classic rock, punk rock and other various genres.
For Paul Rostock, the music he best associates himself with is jazz.
Pittston-born Paul Rostock will be performing with the Marko Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet at the Scranton Jazz Festival&#8217;s 10th Anniversary on Aug. 8, 9 and 10 at several downtown venues, including the Historic Radisson Hotel at 700 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton.
The Marko Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet will also perform between 9:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. at Ale Mary&#8217;s on Friday, Aug. 8 and at Le Bistro on Saturday, Aug. 9.
Rostock, 57, serves as the band&#8217;s bass player, but he is not a rookie when it comes to playing the deep-toned instrument - he&#8217;s been playing since he was a teenager, even playing in some local bands growing up.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been playing bass since I was 13 or 14 years old,&#8221; said Rostock, who was born in Pittston but currently resides in Stroudsburg. &#8220;I play the double bass and the bass guitar. My father was a trombonist as well, so music has been a big influence in the family.
&#8220;I played in a local band in Pittston with a friend named Joe Ranieli and then I played with the Gene Dempsey Orchestra when I was 15 or 16.&#8221;
Other Pittston locals he performed with in jazz bands over the years include Jimmy Westo, Charlie LaTorre, Bill Jumper and brothers Paul and Bill DiGilio.
While he works with the Marko Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet, that is not Rostock&#8217;s only gig. He often freelances for other jazz artists and bands.
Rostock said it all started when he first left the Pittston area.
&#8220;Right after I left the area of Pittston I played at the resorts in the Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos and a hotel called Tamiment,&#8221; said Rostock. &#8220;At those times, those resorts were popular and they would bring in entertainers on weekends, so I would perform with them and that&#8217;s how I started touring with them as well.&#8221;
Rostock has performed and recorded with many of the world&#8217;s most popular artists in the jazz and pop genres including Frank Sinatra, Maureen McGovern, Joel Grey, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Feinstein, Monica Mancini, Bobby Rydell, Maynard Ferguson, Phil Woods, Bob Dorough, Stanley Turrentine, David &#8220;Fathead&#8221; Newman, Carl Fontana, Randy Brecker, Urbie Green, Nellie McKay and John Coates.
He also performs with regional jazz groups including Absolute Trio, Dave Roper Trio and La Cuchina. He has been touring on and off for over 30 years with vocalist Frank Sinatra Jr.
In 2008, the Marko Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet performed in Scranton as part of former Secretary of State and First Lady Hilary Clinton&#8217;s presidential campaign. The group even got to meet former United States President Bill Clinton during the campaign.
When not on tour, Rostock performs with the Marko Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet every Wednesday at Bazil Restaurant in Clarks Summit.
&#8220;I live in Stroudsburg, but I still do play in the Scranton area,&#8221; said Rostock. &#8220;I just think I enjoy the festival and it&#8217;s a really well-run festival. It&#8217;s a good feeling, musicians are treated very well and it&#8217;s become a high profile jazz festival.&#8221;
Rostock enjoys working with the Marko Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet, of which he&#8217;s been a member for several years, and he loves the challenging music the group plays.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve all known each other and played in different groups together and it was just a project for us to play Latin jazz&#8230;,&#8221; said Rostock. &#8220;World music is such an influence on jazz, so the band was put together specifically for that sound. It&#8217;s just an exciting band - very good musicians and challenging material.&#8221;
When he&#8217;s not with the Marco Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet, or freelancing with other musicians, Rostock serves on the faculty of Moravian College, where he&#8217;s been an instructor of double bass and bass guitar since 1991. He has directed jazz ensembles as well as private jazz history and improvisation practicum and even directs the Moravian Bass Ensemble.
He continues to tour and work with Sinatra Jr. as well.
Rostock lives with wife Diane and 17-year-old daughter Sophia in Stroudsburg, but still has ties to the Pittston area through his mother Catherine, 89, who still resides in Pittston in their family house. Three of his four brothers - John, Michael and Joseph - all reside in Pittston as well.
More information on the Scranton Jazz Festival&#8217;s 10th Anniversary and the Marco Marcinko Latin Jazz Quintet can be found online at scrantonjazzfestival.org.

Jazzin’ it up