Aaron Hill Celebrates His 43rd birthday at Terra Café
Pianist Aaron Hill threw himself a great birthday party concert at Terra Café on April 28th. 2025. A sizeable crowd of boisterously appreciative listeners enjoyed Terra’s Jamaican-style soul food, while Hill played a double keyboard, with Anthony “Blue” Jenkins on a deep-throated electric bass and a very spirited Devron “Ace” Dennis on drums. Funk style dominated the set, but later in the evening, Hill played his own original titled “Sincerity,” a lyrically expressive piece that reminded me of Chick Corea’s “Return to Forever.” He played solo at first, and then the bass and drums joined in. The program was then opened up for a jam session. Multi-instrumentalist Matthew George played a heartfelt rendition of “God Bless the Child” on alto sax, and Changa Onyango sang beautifully on “This Little Light of Mine.”
Educated at Berklee School of Music and Sheffield Institute for the Recording Arts, Hill is a fixture in the Baltimore jazz scene, playing at venues throughout the DMV. As he states in the bio on his website, he is “a piano artist, composer, producer, audio engineer, speaker, educator, and entrepreneur.” As a Certified Mindfulness & Meditation Teacher, Hill offers workshops in stress reduction and well-being, both online and at various organizations. In 2007, he founded Fruition Music, Inc., a production and performance track/backing track company specializing in Gospel, jazz and soul.
At his party, Hill gave a shout-out to his mother, Cheryl Lawson, whom he credits with nurturing his self-expression in youth. As is often the case at his events, she was present, stylishly sporting a colorful top, bright dangling earrings and a smooth gray bob, and happily grooving along to the music.
In May, Hill began a “Tasteful Tuesdays” series at Terra Café, starting with Mikel Combs on bass and Charles Wilson on drums, with a changing band make up. Terra Café, located on the corner of 25th and St. Paul in Charles Village, hosts a variety of live music events, including an every-Thursday jam session hosted by drummer Phil Thomas and an every-third-Sunday jam session hosted by jazz enthusiast and vocalist Liz Fixsen. Owner Terence Dickson aims to make Terra Café a neighborhood hub for live music and other community-oriented events.
–by Liz Fixsen
Liz Fixsen is a jazz enthusiast as well as a small-time jazz performer on keyboard and vocals. She serves on the board of the Baltimore Jazz Alliance, and she edits and writes for the BJA’s quarterly newsletter.