In much the same way that the Philadelphia jazz scene sits in the shadow of New York’s expansive jazz community, so too does Baltimore sometimes suffer in comparison to Washington, D.C., located just 50 miles or so south. D.C. has the advantage of the subsidies related to tourism and national organizations, who hire jazz musicians for entertainment and thereby help to prop the scene up economically if not creatively. However, also like Philly, Baltimore does have a strong identity all its own, as any regular viewer of The Wire or Homicide could verify. With schools like Towson, Peabody Conservatory and Goucher providing a steady stream of music students who both go to shows and play them, the area is not short on young people passionate about music. It’s also a less expensive place to live than either Washington or New York City, and so several internationally known players, including Gary Bartz, Cyrus Chestnut, Dennis Chambers and Gary Thomas, choose to maintain a residence or presence there.
Clubs/Venues
An Die Musik Live
409 N. Charles St., 2nd Floor
Baltimore, MD
(410) 385-2638
Bertha’s Restaurant and Bar
734 South Broadway
Baltimore, MD
(410) 327-5795
Bread and Circuses Bistro
27 East Chesapeake Ave.
Towson, MD
(410) 337-5282
Caton Castle
20 South Caton Ave.
Baltimore, MD
(410) 566-7086
The Cat’s Eye Pub
1730 Thames St.
Baltimore, MD
(410) 276-9866
49 West Coffeehouse
49 West St.
Annapolis, MD
(410) 626-9796
Jazzway 6004
6004 Hollins Ave.
Baltimore, MD
(410) 624-2222
Joe Squared Pizza & Bar
133 West North Ave.
Baltimore, MD
(410) 545-0444
Keystone Korner Baltimore
1350 Lancaster St.
Baltimore, MD
(410) 946-6726
The Wind Up Space
12 West North Ave.
Baltimore, MD
(410) 244-8855
Rams Head Live!
20 Market Place
Baltimore, MD
(410) 244-1131
Festivals/Special Events
Artscape
Mount Royal Avenue corridor in Baltimore, MD
Held in mid-July
Radio Stations/Shows
NPR station with a jazz show hosted by Andy Bienstock, a big band show hosted by Ken Jackson, plus various syndicated public radio jazz shows, such as “Riverwalk Jazz,” “Jazz After Hours” and “Echoes.”
Community radio station, associated with Morgan State University, features many hours of mainstream and contemporary jazz throughout the week.
Education Programs
Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
1 East Mount Vernon Pl.
Baltimore, MD 21202
(667) 208-6500
Peabody offers a B.M. in jazz performance in trumpet, percussion (drums), double bass, saxophone, flute, piano, guitar, voice. Faculty includes Nasar Abadey, Kristopher Funn, Tim Green, Richard D. Johnson, Sean Jones, Quincy Phillips, Matthew Stevens, Charenée Wade, and Warren Wolf.
Towson University
8000 York Rd.
Towson, MD 21252
(410) 704-2831
The Jazz/Commercial Music program at Towson University offers bachelor’s degrees in Jazz/Commercial Performance and composition. Jazz and music faculty includes Dave Ballou (program director), Jim McFalls, Darryl Brenzel, Frank Russo, Steve Herberman, Tom Lagana, Tim Murphy, Jeremy Ragsdale, Jeff Reed, John Dierker and Eric Trudel.
Goucher College
1021 Dulaney Valley Rd.
Baltimore, MD 21204
(410) 337-6148
Additional Resources
Information initially compiled by Eli Aleinikoff and Lee Mergner in June 2011.
Originally Published
