ANNAPOLIS JAZZ & ROOTS FESTIVAL

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WEEKEND ONE NOV 7- 9

Opening Night on November 7 will be held at Peerless Rens, an historic Black social club in Eastport. The Tribute to Eva Cassidy features Alexis Tantau and Letitia VanSant with Rusty Sal. These popular Baltimore based, genre crossing musicians have been heard in many countries, receiving considerable critical praise for recordings and live performance. Attend shows at 6 or 8 PM. Light meals and drinks will be on sale. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door.

On Saturday, view “Sacred Spaces,” an exhibition featuring paintings and mixed media art by Jabari Jefferson at Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum. At 1 PM, he’ll take part in an interview and discussion with his musician father, J.C. Jefferson. The topic: how music can inspire art and vice versa! At 2 PM, the J.C. Jefferson Quartet will salute incomparable producer, composer, director and musician Quincy Jones, one year after his passing.

Sunday affords rejuvenation. Get your groove back with soulful funk and rock trio Michael Montgomery Tribe. They’ll appear at Pip Moyer Recreation Center from 3-5:00 PM. Montgomery has worked with names like The Jacksons, Sheena Easton, George Clinton/P. Funk and La Toya Jackson.

WEEKEND TWO Nov 14- 16 

Weekend Two kicks off on Friday, November 14 with Unified Jazz Ensemble, a group that settled in Annapolis after a decade of touring. Join them as they revisit the days when jazz conquered the nation via radio, television, film and live performance. Enjoy the priceless sounds of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman in   spacious and beautiful Eastport U.M. Church at 7 PM. Attendees are welcome to come dressed in the styles of clothing worn in the jazz heydays of the 1940s and 1950s.

Saturday events begin at 11 AM. Since the first year of the festival, morning concerts and lectures have been hugely popular. Held at Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library, this one features the Ed Hrybyk Trio in                 

an intriguing concert titled “Bass Traditions: Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford and More.” Listen to some amazing jazz and bring curiosity and ideas to the Q & A held afterward.

Catch an amazing concert at 3 PM the same day at Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, a venue situated in a tapestry of trees. Enjoy the atmosphere as Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble offers the best in Americana in song and dance. The event pays tribute to the late dancer and choreographer, Footworks founder Eileen Carson Schatz. With help from former dancers and current Music Director Mark Schatz, she took traditional music and dance forms to great performance heights, finding international acclaim in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany and Japan. Schatz has worked with such artists as Bella Fleck, Nickel Creek, Emmy Lou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.

The festival ends with afternoon and evening events. At 3 PM, The Freedom Choir performs a world music program at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Stellar acoustics will amplify the inspiring sounds of a community choir. It’s led by Elizabeth Melvin, another Hometown Hero whose stellar musical career as a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, bandleader and choir director spans decades. 

The grand finale concert features the Joshua Redman Quartet. With his latest Blue Note album, Words Fall Short, Joshua Redman unveils a powerful new chapter in his storied career. Tickets are $25-$85. Purchase directly from the venue, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts (https://marylandhall.org/maryland-hall-presents).