Jazz has a special place in the heart of Baltimore, and the music’s moving improvisation, soulful singers, and skilled musicians will captive the city this weekend, at the Baltimore Jazz Fest.
Featuring a line-up of talented jazz musicians, the family-friendly event will take place Saturday from 12 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Druid Hill Park.
Saxophonist Art Sherrod is one of the many artists who will be performing during the Baltimore Jazz Fest. (Courtesy photo)
“In jazz, one song takes you through different emotions,” said saxophonist and trumpeter, Clarence Ward III. Ward will be playing an hour-long set at the festival alongside a quintet of Baltimore musicians. “I went to college for saxophone and trumpet. I went to the military as a saxophonist and toured the world. I put my time in. I play what I feel.”
The Baltimore Jazz Fest is organized by the Baltimore Jazz Alliance, a grassroots organization that promotes jazz in Baltimore and the surrounding areas. The festival’s lineup will take listeners through the history of jazz, journeying through 1930’s jazz, smooth jazz, and Latin jazz, and ending the evening with a special feature of Baltimore jazz legends including Tim Harris, Bob Butta, Charles Funn, and others.
Beginning in the 1920’s, jazz was the center of Baltimore’s music. Pennsylvania Avenue was a throbbing community with music venues, restaurants and thriving theaters such as The Royal Theater, one of the most famous Black-owned theaters in Baltimore City. The biggest stars in entertainment from Ethel Walters to Duke Ellington performed at The Royal.
Pennsylvania Avenue was a music mecca that produced worldwide legends such as Bille Holliday, Cab Calloway, Betty Carter, and others. Baltimore’s jazz scene nurtured musicians and the city’s people.
“Jazz isn’t just one dimensional. It has so many different facets that a lot of people don’t recognize,” said musician Art Sherrod Jr., who will perform his own hour-long set. Sherrod has been playing the saxophone for about 30 years and plans to take listeners through a “jazz road trip” offering contemporary and classic jazz selections. He will perform a variety of music from his three albums, covers from popular band Earth Wind & Fire, and other work influenced from his background in gospel and R&B.
“My goal is to leave them on a high note.” Sherrod said.
The Baltimore Jazz Fest will take attendees to a time that feels both legendary and contemporary. Offering new and old sounds of jazz amidst a selection of food and drinks, The Baltimore Jazz Fest is an opportunity to either remember or imagine what Pennsylvania Avenue once sounded like.
Due to rain and very wet ground, the festival site has been moved; it is still in Druid Hill Park, but it is now taking place at the west side of the reservoir, at the Swann Drive entrance to the park. Click here for a map.
For more details, visit baltimorejazzfest.com.
