Todd Marcus - On These Streets (A Baltimore Story) (2018)

Tracklist
---------
01. On the Corner
02. An Intersection of Change (Intro)
03. An Intersection of Change
04. Ground Zero (At Penn. & North) [Intro]
05. Ground Zero (At Penn. & North)
06. I Surrender All (Intro)
07. I Surrender All
08. Fear of the Known
09. P.T.S.D. in the Hood (Intro)
10. P.T.S.D in the Hood
11. Pennsylvania Avenue Hustle (Intro)
12. Pennsylvania Avenue Hustle
13. It Still Gets Still (Intro)
14. It Still Gets Still
15. Covered in Snow
16. N.J. '88 (Ode to the 80s)

Since 1997 Marcus has lived a double life as a community activist and leader of the west Baltimore nonprofit Intersection of Change, while also carving out a career as one of the world’s preeminent jazz bass clarinetists. His album On These Streets offers a musical portrait of his neighborhood of 20 plus years which was thrust into the national spotlight in 2015 due to the civil unrest following the death of fellow community resident Freddie Gray.

Self taught in jazz theory and composition, Marcus’ straight-ahead playing has carved out a unique voice for the bass clarinet in modern jazz. 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.”

While the New Jersey native’s work over recent years has focused extensively on his Egyptian heritage by incorporating Middle Eastern influences in jazz, his current efforts have focused on his experiences at home in Baltimore as On These Streets seeks to portray both the challenges and strengths of his community. The record features Marcus on bass clarinet with Paul Bollenback (guitar), Warren Wolf (vibes),George Colligan (piano), Kris Funn (bass), and Eric Kennedy (drums).

Marcus has performed nationally and internationally and was awarded a 2016 Jazz Hero award by the Jazz Journalists Association. The bass clarinetist has been voted a “Rising Star” in Downbeat Magazine’s Annual Critics Poll since 2013 and in 2014, was the winner of Baltimore’s prestigious Baker Artist Award winner, and in 2016 was selected as one of only nine musicians in the country (alongside fellow winner Wayne Shorter) for a prestigious composition commission by the New York based organization Chamber Music America.