Todd Marcus Quintet featuring Virginia McDonald

Sat, Jul 12

“Mr. Marcus is probably the most inventive bass clarinetist working in straight-ahead jazz today… [and] lives in Baltimore, where he is a guiding light on the city’s jazz scene who doubles as an activist and organizer.” – The New York Times Bass clarinetist, composer, and bandleader Todd Marcus is one of the few jazz artists worldwide to focus their work primarily on the bass clarinet. Though the 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 fiery and introspective intensity but maintains strong lyrical sensibility. Marcus has annually been voted a Rising Star in Downbeat Magazine’s Annual Critics Poll since 2013. The New York Times writes, “Mr. Marcus is probably the most inventive bass clarinetist working in straight-ahead jazz today…[and] lives in Baltimore, where he is a guiding light on the city’s jazz scene who doubles as an activist and organizer.” Based in Baltimore, MD, Marcus actively leads small ensembles such as the Todd Marcus Quartet, Trio, and Duo and his nine-piece band, The Todd Marcus Jazz Orchestra, on original compositions and jazz standards. Marcus also offers clinics and master classes with his ensembles that focus on jazz, composition, music business, and the incorporation of other cultural music with jazz. Self-taught in jazz theory and composition, Marcus’s compositions draw largely on straight-ahead jazz and classical influences. Still, over recent years, he has also increasingly explored the Middle Eastern sounds from his Egyptian American heritage. He has worked with other jazz artists such as Gary Bartz, Bennie Maupin, Don Byron, Larry Willis, Odean Pope, Gary Thomas, Joel Frahm, Tim Warfield, Ralph Peterson, Warren Wolf, Sean Jones, Xavier Davis, George Colligan, and Orrin Evans. Marcus’s work includes regular performances in Baltimore, Washington, DC, New York, and Philadelphia, as well as international performances, clinics, and radio plays. He was a featured artist in the 2017 Jazz Tales Festival in Egypt, the 2015 Cairo Jazz Festival in Egypt, and the 1st World Bass Clarinet Convention in Rotterdam, Holland, in 2005. Marcus balances his music career by running Intersection of Change, a nonprofit addressing poverty-related issues in his Baltimore neighborhood. The organization runs a community arts program for children and adults, a recovery program for women overcoming drug addiction, and an urban farm, and has achieved significant community revitalization by renovating abandoned buildings and vacant lots. If the total amount of beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum, a $15 drink/food minimum is charged per person in the party, per set. Important Notices: If you do not check in by 15 minutes into the start of the set, we reserve the right to resale your seats with no refund. Tickets for this performance are non-refundable. If you are unable to attend, a one-time transfer to a future show of equal value will be accepted. The transfer must be requested 24 hours before the start of the performance.