SOLD OUT! The Todd Marcus Orchestra Blues for Tahrir concert at Jazzway 6004 is SOLD OUT! Important Notice Because of the threat of thunderstorms tomorrow night (5/16), we have had to move the concert indoors. The risk to the piano is too great. We will also be starting at 7:30 instead of 7:00. We are sorry for the last minute changes and any inconvenience they cause.       Our first outdoor show at Jazzway 6004 featuring the Todd Marcus Orchestra performing pieces from his new work Blues for Tahrir This concert is funded through a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.  

  Todd Marcus - bass clarinet Greg Tardy - tenor sax Brent Birckhead - flute/alto sax Russell Kirk - alto sax Alex Norris - trumpet Jim McFalls - trombone Elio Villafranca - piano   Kris Funn – bass Shareef Taher - drums Jon Seligman - percussion Irene Jalenti - vocal 2014 Baker Artist Award winner Todd Marcus will debut his new CD, Blues for Tahrir, in two sets at Jazzway 6004 at a special outdoor concert on May 16th from 7:00-9:30. The Baltimore bass clarinetist and composer has presented his jazz for over 10 years and along the way received accolades including the $25,000 Baker prize,  selections as a rising star by national jazz magazine Downbeat in its 2014 and 2013 annual critics poll, and an NPR pick for one of the top 10 albums of 2012.  But his newest album Blues for Tahrir is poised to make his biggest statement to date by setting Egypt’s Arab Spring movement to music in a fusion of jazz with Middle Eastern influences.  “The album revolves around my Blues for Tahrir Suite,” Marcus explains.  “It began as just one piece of music when the Arab Spring movement started in Tahrir Square in Cairo in 2011 but as the demonstrations continued over the following years, I kept writing more music in response to the ongoing developments.”  The sections of the suite bear out these diverse moods with titles including Protest, Reflections, Tears on the Square, and Adhan, the Arabic word for the call to prayer that sounds five times a day across loudspeakers at mosques in Islamic countries.   For Marcus, the son of an Egyptian immigrant father, the project stemmed from efforts to connect more deeply with his own heritage. “There wasn’t an Egyptian community around where I was raised,” Marcus shares of his New Jersey childhood, “but as I’ve gotten older, exploring Middle Eastern music has been a way for me to connect with my culture in my work.” Marcus’s jazz orchestra will celebrate the album’s release with performances starting in Baltimore  Marianne Matheny-Katz will also perform a song with Marcus' group. Marcus arranged several of the tunes on Matheny-Katz' 2014 CD "Somewhere in Paradise" which has received much critical acclaim and widespead air play.   Tickets are: $38/general, $33/BJA members and $20/students. Tickets must be purchased on- line, in advance.  You may also use our reservation form and mail in a check.  But it must be received at least 3 days before the concert. No tickets at the door.   Ticket (and reservation form) link: http://www.jazzway6004.org/products.html   All Tickets include all soft drinks, a raffle, and a dessert, fruit and cheese buffet post-concert.