Baltimore Jazz

Produced by Todd Marcus

Todd Marcus is one of the few jazz artists worldwide to focus their work primarily on the bass clarinet.
His music swings hard with both a fiery and introspective intensity but also maintains a strong lyrical sensibility. 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.” Self-taught in jazz theory and composition, Marcus’ compositions draw largely on straight-ahead jazz and classical influences but over recent years have also increasingly explored the Middle-Eastern sounds from his Egyptian-American heritage. 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 & adults, a recovery program for women overcoming drug addiction, an urban farm, and has achieved significant community revitalization by renovating abandoned buildings and abandoned lots.