Baltimore Jazz Conference 2021
When: Saturday, October 16th, 2021
Where: Zoom – private link available on registration (Virtual Event)
Baltimore Jazz Alliance is pleased to present the 3rd annual Baltimore Jazz Conference, a free event for Baltimore area performers, presenters, and jazz lovers. This year’s lineup features topics ranging from jazz history and research to funding, to getting music recorded and distributed, and includes informational sessions on digital rights, music workers’ rights, and more, plus a special live (streamed) music performance from The Aaron Hill Trio.
Register here! Register today – the event is free, but you must register to receive access – zoom links will be provided after registration.
Below is the schedule – and scroll down for bios on some of the presenters.
Schedule
- 12:00 pm – Welcome to the Baltimore Jazz Conference
- Join us for a few words about the Baltimore Jazz Alliance and how it can help you – including our recently introduced member grants program – and about how this event will be managed throughout the day. This meeting will remain open through the first hour or so – if you have questions about how to navigate the conference, or just want to say hi, or to ask questions about the BJA or anything else, join this meeting and give us a shout.
- 12:20 pm – Capitol Hill Jazz
- Learn about the work being done by our friends down the road, Aaron Myers and Herb Scott of Capitol Hill Jazz.
- 12:20 pm – Taking It To The Streets (with Aaron Hill)
- Learn the steps to build their fanbase and connections through grassroots engagement and the use of social media;
- Learn about some FREE resources and tools to help participants to create, organize, and scale their fanbase; and,
- Learn tips and tricks to maintain your momentum.
- 1:30 pm – Simplifying Digital Royalty Solutions with SoundExchange
- As the premier technology platform for providing royalty solutions for sound recordings and music publishing, SoundExchange sits at the forefront of advocating for everyone from artists, to major music companies, to singer-songwriters. In this presentation, Rich Dejong (Outreach Specialist, Artist & Label Relations), provides a deep-dive on how to efficiently leverage SoundExchange’s cutting-edge technology for seamless payment solutions.
- 1:30 pm – Warren Wolf & at Home LOGIC sessions
- In the beginning of the pandemic, lots of musicians were trying to figure out what to practice? Like lots of musicians, we all got creative and started figuring out new ways to practice in this downtime. During this hour, you’ll see and hear how I started to create self made audio tracks to perform towards.
- 2:30 pm – Live music from the Aaron Hill Trio, streamed by Blue House Productions from the front porch of BJA board member Tyrone Crawley.
- 3:40 pm – An Introduction to Music Workers Alliance (MWA)
- MWA is an organization of, by, and for independent music workers. MWA’s shared purpose is to empower music workers by engaging in collective action to create a community where music is valued financially and culturally and music workers benefit, and achieve dignity in our lives.
- 3:40 pm – Interview with Sean Jones
- Meet renowned trumpeter and jazz educator Sean Jones.
- 4:50 pm – Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts
- As the Arts Council for the City of Baltimore we’re excited to continually offer programming for all disciplines and professional levels. Staying active and creative during this crucial time was a necessary source of grounding and healing for many. We want to discuss the importance of continuing this practice for artists and everyday citizens.
- 4:50 pm – An Overview of Jazz Research and Ongoing Projects (with Bertrand Überall and special guest Kenny Dalsheimer)
- This presentation will give an overview of jazz research, including the various types of research projects and examples from the work of several major jazz researchers. Kenny Dalsheimer will then discuss his film in-progress on Baltimore pianist Yusuf Salim (Joe Blair), who relocated to North Carolina in his later years. Bertrand will then discuss a few of his own ongoing projects, including the Left Bank Jazz Society (both the Baltimore and DC chapters), the repertoire of the Duke Pearson Big Band and an inventory of Herbie Nichols’ compositions. Finally, he will discuss his ongoing copyright research at the Library of Congress during the course of which he discovered unrecorded music by Wayne Shorter and Lee Morgan, among others; some musical examples will be provided.
- 5:30 pm – Getting Your Music Distributed, with Phil Dorsey from TheBocX.com
- Where to sell your music, and how to get airplay via Jazz centric and music distributors/stations/agents. Contact information and inside information!
- 6:00 pm – Baltimore Jazz Alliance Round Table
- Find about BJA member grants and BJA’s plans, share your feedback on what BJA can do to better help the jazz scene, and generally get to know the board and other members of the BJA. Also a good chance to share your thoughts on the day’s presentations, what you learned, and what you missed.
Of course, we realize that it can be hard to choose between sessions. We apologize, but there’s a lot we want to offer, and not a lot of time to do it in. Feel free to hop between sessions, and note that all presentations will be recorded for later viewing in case you miss something you wanted to see/hear.
Click here to view last year’s recorded sessions!
Our Sponsors
This free program is brought to you by Baltimore Jazz Alliance with support from the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts as part of Free Fall Baltimore.
The Free Fall Baltimore program is made possible by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA). Free Fall 2021 is presented by BGE with the generous support of Atapco Properties, the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), and Reyka Vodka.
Our Presenters
Jocquelyn Downs
Jocquelyn is a filmmaker and arts administrator with over twenty years of experience working with students, arts educators, artists, and communities advancing arts education initiatives and programs for underrepresented communities. She currently serves as the Director of the Arts Council for Baltimore City where her primary focus is to provide resources and financial support to creatives and arts/culture organizations throughout the city.
Aaron Hill
Aaron Hill is a Baltimore, MD-based musician mentored by Dr. Maurice Johnson–boasts over 30 million streams of his music and 1 million downloads worldwide. Hill founded the group Fruition Experience–a satiating blend of NeoSoul, Jazz, & Hip-Hop–which has been called ‘Cosmic Soul; He also is the CEO of Fruition Music a performance track company. Most recently he has been creating music and featured with The Aaron Hill Trio–a group reminiscent of Keith Jarrett’s standard trio.
Aaron’s current project, Street Serenades, was birthed out of his response to the COVID-19 pandemic and his deep desire to serve the community. It has received rave reviews by both his fans and the press.
Warren Wolf
“Warren Wolf is a multi-instrumentalist from Baltimore, Maryland. From the age of three, Warren was trained on the vibraphone, drums, and piano—under the guidance of his father Warren Wolf Sr. Warren attended Peabody Preparatory—studying classical music with Leo LePage. Then with John Locke at Baltimore School for the Arts for his high school years. Warren also attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
During his time at Berklee, Warren studied with Caribbean jazz vibraphonist Dave Samuels. After graduating from Berklee in May of 2001, Warren became an active musician on the Boston scene—also teaching at Berklee College of Music. Warren, today, living in Baltimore, is an International touring musician and music professor both at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and at San Francisco Conservatory. Warren has performed throughout the United States of America, South America, Canada, Italy, Spain, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Scotland, London, Greece, Singapore, Thailand, Jarkata, Bangkok, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow and many other countries.
Warren has made several recordings as a leader and as sideman for Mack Ave Records, Blue Note Records and boutique Independent Jazz Record Labels. Musicians that Warren has performed or recorded with are Wynton Marsalis and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Jeremy Pelt, Nicholas Payton, Tim Warfield, Adonis Rose, Donal Fox, Anthony Wonsey, Aaron Goldberg, Cyrus Chestnut, Lewis Nash, Willie Jones, Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Yoron Israel, Larry Willis, David “”Fathead”” Newman, Stefon Harris, Reuben Rogers, Kevin Eubanks, Curtis Lundy, Steve Davis, Duane Eubanks, Ron Carter, Wycliffe Gordon, Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spaulding and many others.”
Bertrand Überall
Bertrand Überall has done extensive research on the music of many jazz composers such as Lee Morgan, Herbie Nichols, Tadd Dameron, Wayne Shorter, Cal Massey and Duke Pearson and uncovered unrecorded music at the Library of Congress. Bertrand has also been conducting research on the Left Bank Jazz Society, both the Baltimore and DC chapters. Bertrand is a volunteer coordinator with Jazz concert series at the Smithsonian, the DC Public Library and a Unitarian Church in Silver Spring.
Kenny Dalsheimer
Kenny Dalsheimer is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and media educator based in Durham, North Carolina. He founded The Groove Productions in 1996 when he began producing documentaries and community video. His films, Go Fast, Turn Left: Voices from Orange Country Speedway (1997) and Shine On: Richard Trice and the Bull City Blues (2000), screened across North Carolina as part of the NC Humanities Council’s Road Scholars program. He co-directed and shot Bending Space: Georges Rousse and the Durham Project (2007) which screened at festivals around the world and aired across the southeast on PBS. His disability rights film, A New Kind of Listening (2009), received national recognition in 2010 from TASH as recipient of the Positive Images in Media Award. A Weaverly Path: The Tapestry Life of Silvia Heyden (2011) and Bending Sticks: The Sculpture of Patrick Dougherty (2012), offer immersive portraits of internationally recognized NC artists. Peace in Our Pockets (2016) celebrates the peacebuilding work of Kenyan activists in the lead up to Kenya’s 2013 elections. His most recent film, You Gave Me a Song (2019), celebrates the life and musical journey of old-time music legend Alice Gerrard. Kenny received his M.A. in Anthropology from Duke University in 1985 and taught at Carolina Friends School between 1986–1996.
Ty Citerman
Ty Citerman is a Brooklyn, NY-based guitarist, composer and bandleader who explores music across the spectrum of jazz, rock and contemporary classical. His most recent album “Bop Kabbalah+Voices: When You Speak of Times to Come (Ven Du Redst Fun Naye Tsaytn)” was released on Infrequent Seams in December 2020 and features a dynamic trio with vocalist Sara Serpa and vocalist/pianist Judith Berkson that critic Eyal Hareuveni called ““Inspiring and moving…beautifully arranged and delivered” (Salt Peanuts).
Sean Jones
Music and spirituality have always been fully intertwined in the artistic vision of trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and activist Sean Jones. Singing and performing as a child with the church choir in his hometown of Warren, Ohio, Sean switched from the drums to the trumpet at the age of 10.
Sean is a musical chameleon and is comfortable in any musical setting no matter what the role or the genre. He is equally adept in being a member of an ensemble as he is at being a bandleader. Sean turned a 6-month stint with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra into an offer from Wynton Marsalis for a permanent position as lead trumpeter, a post he held from 2004 until 2010. In 2015 Jones was tapped to become a member of the SFJAZZ Collective. During this time, Sean has managed to keep a core group of talented musicians together under his leadership forming the foundation for his groups that have produced and released eight recordings on the Mack Avenue Records, the latest is his 2017 release Sean Jones: Live from the Jazz Bistro.
Sean has been prominently featured with a number of artists, recording and/or performing with many major figures in jazz, including Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Gerald Wilson and Marcus Miller. Sean was selected by Miller, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter for their Tribute to Miles tour in 2011.
He has also performed with the Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Youngstown Symphony Orchestras as well as Soulful Symphony in Baltimore and in a chamber group at the Salt Bay Chamber Festival.
Sean is also an internationally recognized educator. He was recently named the Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair of Jazz at John Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute in Baltimore. Before coming to Peabody, Sean served as the Chair of the Brass Department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Rich Dejong
Rich is the outreach specialist for SoundExchange and is primarily responsible for tracking down artists and rights owners for whom SoundExchange has unclaimed royalties. He also represents SX at many industry events, conferences, and music festivals. Rich is a graduate of George Mason University and holds degrees in international relations and international business. He has been a drummer for nearly 30 years and has toured nationally and internationally with a wide variety of acts. Rich is a native of the Netherlands has been part of the SoundExchange team since 2007.