Author: Liz Fixsen

[Photo credit: Michael Friedman] Pianist Aidan Francia Cotter grew up in Harlem in a home filled with music – his mother, grandmother, and great aunt were all pianists, and his grandfather was a jazz pianist. Not too surprisingly, young Francia Cotter followed in their footsteps, starting with classical music and then adding jazz around age 13 – just about the time his grandfather died. | Read more>> Read More

On an overcast November afternoon, I met with Aleko Lionikis, a senior in the jazz program at Peabody Institute, at Soup’s On, one of Baltimore’s funkiest little eateries. This tall, slender young musician with a mop of black hair and thick black eyebrows is a man of few words, but as we shared lunch, he told me his story. | Read more>> Read More