There’s something in the way a jazz band comes together in seemingly separate ways that makes the listener realize they are witnessing something special. The piano’s smoothness, the richness of the sax or trumpet and the heartbeat-like bass combine into an extraordinary sound that at its best is transporting.
The art form that the legendary Louis Armstrong once defined as “music that’s never played the same way once” has a rich tradition in Baltimore—Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, and Chick Webb called it home, after all. In recent years, it hasn’t always been front and center in the music scene, but some avid fans are hoping to change that.
We’ve highlighted a few events this spring that seek to expose audiences to this beloved music.
Baltimore Chamber Jazz Society
On five afternoons a year, a little before 5 p.m., the last of the Baltimore Museum of Art visitors drift out into the evening as jazz fans stroll in, a little spring in their steps. The gathering crowd is a diverse mix of local musicians and music lovers anticipating another night of exciting music presented by the Baltimore Chamber Jazz Society.
This year, the BJCS celebrates 25 years of bringing remarkable, nationally known acts to Baltimore, including The Cedar Walton Quartet, Mary Cleere Haran, and Charm City native Cyrus Chestnut. Founded by a group of friends who also happened to be jazz fans looking to hear more of their favorite music, the BCJS started small, curating one concert at the Park School in 1991, and then presenting two concerts in 1992.
By 2001-2002, the Society was holding five concerts every season at the BMA’s intimate performance space, under the leadership of some of the same founders with the support from the Maryland State Arts Council and donations from other jazz fans. Its objective, as stated on the BJCS website, is unchanged: “to bring to Baltimore outstanding jazz musicians, to present them in an intimate concert setting, to keep ticket prices as low as possible, and to carry forward the long and illustrious history of jazz in Baltimore.”
This season includes three more concerts: Antonio Sanchez and Migration (March 6), The Orrin Evans Quintet (April 3), and The Joe Lovano Classic Quartet (May 1), followed by a 25th anniversary celebration at Gertrude’s.
—John Low
Jazz Nights at Fleet Street Kitchen
What better way to unwind at the end of the week than a drink with jazz accompaniment? That’s what you can expect at this Harbor East eatery every second and fourth Thursday night of the month from 6 to 8 p.m..
The jazz nights overlap with Fleet Street’s happy hour, which runs from 5 to 7 p.m. And the events have been so successful that Bagby Resaurant Group, which runs Fleet Street, is thinking of expanding to sister restaurant Cunningham’s in May.
Catch the Cold Spring Jazz Quartet on February 25, guitarist Tom Lagana on March 10 and April 14, and bass clarinetist Todd Marcus on March 24 and April 28.
Jazz at the Motor House
We’ve already given you a behind-the-scenes look at the new Station North arts incubator, but its jazz program deserves re-mentioning. Beginning in January, creative director David Mitchell started highlighting local legends like Carlos Johnson and the Zone 1 at Sunday concerts in the 120 to 230-seat performance space.
“When patrons and musicians enter the space, they say, ‘Oh yeah, this is great,’” Mitchell says. “We’re looking to start a jazz presence in the heart of Baltimore.”
Next up is a March 13 concert that explores women in jazz.