Enoch Pratt Free Library is excited to collaborate with Keystone Korner Baltimore for a June Music Series celebrating Black Music Month! One of Keystone Korner’s core tenets is to make some of the best music in the world accessible to the public in a loving environment. In this spirit, Pratt is excited to welcome an array of renowned local talent to our branches for this music series!
On June 9, Pratt welcomes Todd Marcus to the Central branch's Wheeler Auditorium for an evening of jazz and community.
Todd Marcus (bass clarinet)
Allyn Johnson (piano)
Blake Meister (bass)
Eric Kennedy (drums)
Marcus is one of the few jazz artists worldwide to focus their work primarily on the bass clarinet. Though use of bass clarinet in jazz typically leans heavily towards avant-garde and free-jazz styles, Marcus’ straight-ahead playing has carved out a unique voice for the instrument in modern jazz. His music swings hard with both a fiery and introspective intensity but also maintains a strong lyrical sensibility. Marcus has annually been voted a Rising Star in Downbeat Magazine’s Annual Critics Poll since 2013 and The New York Times writes, “Mr. Marcus is probably the most inventive bass clarinetist working in straight-ahead jazz today…" He has worked with artists such as Gary Bartz, Bennie Maupin, Don Byron, Larry Willis, Gary Thomas, Joel Frahm, Tim Warfield, Ralph Peterson, Warren Wolf, Sean Jones, Xavier Davis, George Colligan, and Orrin Evans.
