As a youth in Washington, D.C. he paid dues as a member of the Hi Integrity Band and Show, one of the many Go-Go bands that defined the D.C. musical scene. His family carries a musical tradition: his great-grandmother played piano at local movie houses, her partner was Eubie Blake; his mother is a visual artist and father played trumpet. Cary received a formal education from Duke Ellington School of Art. As an emerging artist, his circle of mentors included John Malachi, Mary Jefferson, Nat Turner. By age 18, he found himself playing with the Dizzy Gillespie Youth Ensemble at Wolf Trap. In the spirited style of D.C.  jazz pianists like Duke Ellington, Shirley Horn, John Malachi, Cary continues in that tradition of innovation composition. Cary has played and recorded with an impressive roster of musicians: Me'Shell NdegeOcello, Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Arthur Taylor, Abbey Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Jackie McLean, Clifford Jordan, Carmen McCrae, Milt Jackson, Curtis Fuller, Eddie Henderson, Arthur Taylor, Frank Foster, Wynton Marsalis, Max Roach, Shirley Horn, Ani Difranco, among a host of other talents.

As Marc Cary evolves as an artist, is it clear that his body of work will continue to expand with cerebral compositions and impressive projects. It is evident that Cary lives as a true jazz musician would, composing from the heart, approaching the music with an evident freedom in his vision.