Author: Gregory Lewis

Concert Reviews

Tim Green at the Hemingway Room – Showcasing Some Impressive Students

[Photo Credit: Nick Moreland] The Sonic Lifeline production and promotion group kicked off its spring 2024 series of jazz concerts in the Hemingway Room at Little Havana restaurant (near Federal Hill) on February 23, with two shows featuring Tim Green on alto sax, Terry Brewer on piano and Hammond B-3 organ, Kris Funn on acoustic bass, and Quincy Phillips on drums. | Read more>> Read More
Concert ReviewsVenue Review

The Hemingway Room at Little Havana: A Jazzy Inner Harbor Secret

Don’t judge a book by its cover. That sage advice applies to Little Havana, a transformed warehouse at 1325 Key Highway that began in 1997 as a Cuban-themed restaurant and has evolved into a Federal Hill landmark. It’s a near neighbor to the Baltimore Museum of Industry and features an outdoor dining option that looks out over the Inner Harbor. | Read more>> Read More
Book Reviews

Baltimore-Born Drummer Chick Webb: a Retrospective

A new biography by Stephanie Stein Crease Thanks to jazz historian Stephanie Stein Crease, we now have a comprehensive biography of William Henry (“Chick”) Webb (1905-1939), the Baltimore-born musical prodigy whose innovative drumming technique helped to perfect rhythmic “swing,” the defining orchestral aesthetic of the Swing Era:  Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat That Changed America (2023). | Read more>> Read More
Misc. Jazz Related Topic

Don’t Bogart That Joint

As Maryland voters have recently legalized recreational marijuana, it seems propitious to take a look back at the historical pot prohibition and its impact on the jazz community. While the smoke-filled rooms of nightclubs in 20th century cities like New Orleans, Chicago and New York shaped the contours of  jazz, America’s only indigenous art form, it was the furtive backroom smoke of weed that became a distorting presence. | Read more>> Read More