Although he studied classical violin as a youngster, Marshall found his natural musical voice after switching to the mandolin at the age of 14. Marshall's 1990 debut album, Mandolin Magic, was produced by David Grisman and featured solo mandolin interpretations of songs by the Beatles ("Do You Want to Know a Secret," "Mother Nature's Son," "Michelle," and "You Won't See Me"), Gershwin ("Summertime"), Johannes Brahms ("Hungarian Dances #5 and #6"), Jacques Offenbach ("Bacarolle"), and Don McLean ("Vincent"). Marshall continued to showcase his interpretive skills on his second album, Evan Marshall Is the Lone Arranger, released in 1995. In addition to two more Beatles tunes ("P.S. I Love You" and "Here, There and Everywhere"), Marshall reworks Irving Berlin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" and Rossini's "William Tell Overture." Marshall stepped forward as a composer on his third collection, Mandolin Unlimited, released the same year. Produced by Mark O'Connor, the album includes solo tracks with overdubbed double mandolin pieces and several tunes featuring Sam Bush and O'Connor on mandolin and John Knowles on guitar.