BJA STANDS WITH THE AA/IP COMMUNITY
The Baltimore Jazz Alliance stands in solidarity with Asian Americans/Pacific Islander community in Baltimore and beyond. We applaud the accomplishments and gifts brought to our city by musicians, presenters, and listeners of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, and we deplore the prejudice and violence recently directed toward persons of Asian/P.I. | Read more>>
Stage Fright and How to Conquer It
A condition commonly plaguing performers can be overcome.
Is there anyone amongst us who has never had some stage fright? My question is, of course, rhetorical. Stage fright is a “common denominator” of musical performers, at one time or another. Moreover, the general psychological phenomenon of performance anxiety is not limited to stage fright per se; it also applies to one’s emotional response to any kind of performance; for example, doing a job interview, giving a toast at a wedding, going on a first date, and “rounding third base” some time after that first date…
Not only is some degree of anxiety entirely normal before and/or during a musical event, it’s actually necessary for optimal performance. | Read more>>
“I’ll Be Seeing You in All the Old Familiar Places”
–A nostalgic look at the jazz scene of yesteryear and questions for the future
It was a dark and stormy night … not really; it was actually rather drizzly, but nobody walked through the doors of the old club on Pennsylvania Avenue, The Sphinx Club, without shaking a little drizzle off their hat or wiping down some of the wetness on their sleeves. | Read more>>
Jazz in Theory and Practice
Back in the 1970s, as a young jazz enthusiast, I remember listening to pianist Victor Feldman playing in a club in Los Angeles and wondering, “What is he doing??” meaning, what is happening when he is improvising a solo? Where does he get the notes? | Read more>>
Retirement Can Be Tough–but Jazz Can Help
For some, retirement brings immediate happiness, but for many, there’s a tough period of adjustment. Without work, you can lose social contacts, a way to fill your time, your sense of who you are, your self-esteem, and your source of meaning in life. | Read more>>