Lionel Lyles Has Big Plans for Jazz at Morgan State University
[Photo Credit: Tony Washington]
On May 9th, 2026, the spacious auditorium of the Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University (MSU) saw the fourth annual jazz ensemble concert directed by saxophonist Lionel Lyles II. He has led the ensemble since spring of 2023, upon the retirement of the former director, Dr. Melvin N. Miles, who directed the program for nearly five decades. Lyles himself graduated from MSU in 2002 and has since carved a path to eminence in Baltimore’s jazz community.
According to its website, MSU has both a Jazz Band Ensemble and a Jazz Combo. The former is comprised of music majors and non-music majors performing classic works by jazz composers including Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Count Basie, Miles Davis, and more. Currently there are six saxophones, six trombones, six trumpets, five percussionists, and one vocalist, freshman Danielle Angrand, who was featured in the concert.
The Jazz Combo is a small touring group comprised of the Jazz Band’s leading musicians. Participants perform at various ceremonial engagements for the University on and off campus. Besides Lyles, the director, the only other jazz faculty is saxophonist Brent Birckhead, adjunct professor teaching jazz.
For this year’s end-of-term concert, Lyles decided to do something different and have the concert kick off with his own quintet and incorporate students in that performance. The quintet consisted of Mike Fitzhugh (trumpet/flugel- horn), Darent Polk (trombone), Darius Scott (piano), Percy White (bass), and Phil Thomas (drums).
The second half of the concert featured the student ensemble. They played a very spirited “New Mambo;” a broadly swinging “Boplicity” (this being a Miles Davis tribute concert); Roy Henderson’s “Bye, Bye, Blackbird,” going from swing to Latin and back; a rollicking “Seven Steps to Heaven” with boisterous interludes on drums; and “Lil’ Darlin’,” a slow and slinky swing composed for Count Basie’s orchestra.
They closed with “New Rochelle,” a breezy, upbeat fusion piece written by Bob Mintzer and recorded by the jazz fusion band Yellowjackets on their 1997 album. It opened with horns in anthem-like harmony, before the drums assertively kicked off the head with a funky second-line groove. Sax solos and horns playing major sixth harmonies conjured up a Swanee River vibe, followed by an edgy, driving solo on piano.
A highlight of the program was young vocalist Danielle Angrand, singing “Georgia,” “Misty, and “Nice Work if You Can Get It” in a voice as rich and smooth as melted caramel, with much aplomb and a mature emotional depth without grandstanding.
Lyles describes his teaching style as “Patient. Rigorous. Informative. Nurturing. Tough. Fun” — In that order. In a perfect world, he would develop a full-fledged jazz studies degree at MSU. “What makes Morgan different, I think, is our hearts and approach to the music,” he says. “We have a very long way to go at Morgan, but the students’ desire to be better from day to day really gives us a distinct sound that I think would distinguish us if you were to put us next to [jazz programs at] Towson, UMD, or Peabody.”
In that “perfect world, he would incorporate courses in Music Business, Music Technology, Composition –and Jazz History – “You can’t move forward,” he writes, “until you understand where you’ve been.” He would emphasize improvisation as the vehicle of individual expression, and transcription as the tool to achieve it. Daily jazz combos would give students the experience of playing with others. Courses in Jazz Education would be part of revitalizing jazz from the youngest ages on up through high school.
Lyles cites a grad school professor’s mantra of the three i’s: immersion, imitation, and innovation. “We must immerse ourselves in this music completely from head to toe. Then imitate what we hear as a baby would imitate their native language. Then and only then can we innovate the music to take it to the next level.”
He ends by saying, “Morgan State Jazz once upon a time was the cornerstone to ALL music going on in Baltimore…jazz once was heartbeat of the city… one of the stops in the “Chitlin’ Circuit” and the birth place for A LOT of amazing musicians” It is my wish, my hope, and my duty to try to make Morgan State University be a part of that conversation in Baltimore once again.” I believe it can be said with confidence that if anyone can do it, Lionel Lyles can.
Learn more about Lionel Lyles on the Syos website and in a Winter 2023 article in the Baltimore Jazz Alliance newsletter (baltimorejazz.com/programs-2). Learn more about MSU’s jazz program at https://www.morgan.edu/fine-and-performing-arts/music/instrumental-studies.
By Liz Fixsen
Liz Fixsen is a small-time jazz keyboardist and vocalist and a big-time jazz fan, often seen around town at jazz shows and jam sessions. She serves on the board of the Baltimore Jazz Alliance and writes for and edits its quarterly newsletter.