Todd Marcus Quintet featuring Virginia MacDonald

The Todd Marcus Quintet featuring Todd Marcus on bass clarinet, Virginia MacDonald on clarinet, Bruce Barth on piano, Blake Meister on bass and Eric Kennedy on drums

• Doors open: 6:30 pm
• Show 7 pm
• All tickets: $20
• Parties of 4 or more can reserve a table for an additional $25. Send a request to info@JKproductions.org
• Minors are welcome but must be accompanied by parent or guardian.
• Free street parking, no food or drink minimum, no charge to stay for second set.

Bass clarinetist/composer Todd Marcus  is one of the few jazz artists worldwide to focus their work primarily  on the bass clarinet. Though 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 both a fiery and  introspective intensity but also maintains a strong lyrical sensibility. Marcus has annually been voted a Rising  Star in Downbeat Magazine’s Annual Critics Poll since 2013 and 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.”  The Washington Post adds,  “Listeners won’t have any trouble recognizing Marcus’s compelling gifts  for composing and arranging.” Marcus actively leads small ensembles  such as the Todd Marcus Quintet, Quartet, Trio, and Duo as well as his  nine piece Jazz Orchestra on original compositions and jazz standards. 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.   He has worked with other jazz artists such as Gary Bartz, Bennie  Maupin, Don Byron, Larry Willis, Gary Thomas, Joel Frahm, Tim Warfield,  Ralph Peterson, Warren Wolf, Sean Jones, Xavier Davis, George Colligan,  and Orrin Evans.

Juno Award-winning clarinetist Virginia MacDonald has established  herself as a rising star of her generation. Known for her lyrical and  soulful clarinet playing, Virginia has been described as a “powerful  new voice in the Canadian scene” by Juno Award-winning bassist Mike  Downes. As a highly in-demand bandleader, sidewoman, and composer,  Virginia keeps a regular performance schedule across Canada, the United  States, and Europe. In 2020, Virginia was selected as the first-prize winner of the  International Clarinetist Corona Competition; judges included Anat  Cohen, Victor Goines, Ken Peplowski, and Doreen Ketchens. Virginia has recorded and performed with esteemed artists including  Michael Dease, Ira Coleman, Harold Mabern, Geoffrey Keezer, Joe  Magnarelli, Derrick Gardner, Rodney Whitaker, Xavier Davis, Quincy  Davis, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bill Cunliffe, among others.