BALTIMORE JAZZ COMPOSERS SHOWCASE – LISTEN – George Spicka
“Step a Little Closer” (MP3)
George Spicka was one of ten composers whose original compositions were played at the Baltimore Jazz Composers Showcase, Sept. 29, 2013, at Loyola University. George, who has a background in zoology, says that his tune “Step a Little Closer” is not about a love-sick swain’s proposition to the object of his affections, but about a spider’s invitation to its hoped-for prey—and its success in capturing the hapless victim. | Read more>>
MICKEY FIELDS CD RELEASE – OCT. 27
BALTIMORE: An historic jazz event happens this Sunday October 27, starting at 5pm, at the Caton Castle in Baltimore. It is the release party for a CD celebrating the music of Wilfred “Mickey” Fields, who died in 1995. (NOTE: there is still time to contribute to the Kickstarter site for production of this CD.)
Fields was a Baltimore-area jazz saxophonist, a local legend who although highly regarded by musicians nation-wide, preferred to remain in Baltimore. | Read more>>
SAX MASTER HOUSTON PERSON AT EUBIE BLAKE CENTER SEPT. 22
by Rusty Hassan.
Houston Person’s Big Beautiful Sound
Houston Person is certainly carrying on the tradition of the big tenor sound created by his early influences Illinois Jacquet and Gene Ammons. Although he has recorded prolifically and traveled extensively, he still, as the cliché goes, deserves wider recognition. | Read more>>
BJA BIG BAND KEEPS TRADITIONS ALIVE
By: Chris Taylor.
As John Tegler of WEAA introduced the Baltimore Jazz Alliance Big Band, he painted a portrait of the group’s break from the traditional size and shape etched by Don Redman and Fletcher Henderson. Bursting at the seams, the BJA Big Band had stacked its reeds and trombones, augmenting the standard for a diversified wall of sound. | Read more>>
MAGIC AT EUBIE BLAKE LIVE!
BALTIMORE, Aug. 17, 2013, by Nick Costa –
Jazz presenter Mike Binsky brought top drawer artistes Louis Hayes (drums), Abraham Burton (tenor saxophone), Steve Novosel (bass), and Larry Willis (piano) to the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center on Sunday, August 17th. | Read more>>