Marsh was born and brought up in Montreal. He learned to play the violin from the age of five but it was when he tried playing the saxophone while at high school that led to him exploring jazz, funk and rhythm and blues. With his father's encouragement, he transferred these improvisation skills to the electric violin. He is the brother of musician Fergus Marsh.
In 1978, Marsh was invited by jazz musician Moe Koffman to perform with him in a concert series at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. This led to gigs at top Toronto jazz club George's Spahgetti House and to performances with Canadian jazz musicians Marsh had long admired such as Doug Riley, Claude Ranger, Sonny Greenwich and Don Thompson.
After meeting Bruce Cockburn in 1979, Cockburn invited Marsh to join his band for recordings and tours.
In 1984, Marsh recorded his independent album "The Bear Walks" which would eventually be distributed by Duke Street Records. He was supported on the album by Doug Riley (keyboards), Peter Cardinali (bass, production), and Michael Brecker (tenor sax). The album sold well and was distributed by Verabra Records in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1986.
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