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The Chesapeake Bay and a historic city nestled along its shores form the perfect backdrop for the Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival (AJRF), to be held on the weekends of November 7-16. Now in its fourth year, the event was founded in the maritime neighborhood of Eastport. In 2025, the festival will extend to surrounding areas and eight venues. Most events are free; two require admission. Reservations are strongly advised for all events.
This year’s theme is “World Travelers & Hometown Heroes.” Events celebrate the accomplishments of musicians, dancers, visual artists and others who have left an indelible mark on Maryland's cultural landscape. Some iconic figures, including musician Eva Cassidy and Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble founder Eileen Carson Schatz, are no longer with us, but they left powerful and inspiring legacies around the globe. International and regional artists will help tell their stories.
Opening night on Friday, November 7, will be held at Peerless Rens, a historic Black social club in Eastport. The Tribute to Eva Cassidy features Alexis Tantau and Letitia VanSant with Dusty Sal. These Baltimore based, genre-crossing musicians have been heard in many countries, receiving considerable critical praise for recordings and live performance. Shows will be held at 6:00pm and 8:00pm. Light meals and drinks will be for sale. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door.
On Saturday, November 8, view “Sacred Spaces,” an exhibition featuring paintings and mixed media art by Jabari Jefferson at the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum. At 1:00pm, he will 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 2:00pm, the J.C. Jefferson Quartet will salute incomparable producer, composer, director and musician Quincy Jones.
Sunday, November 9, affords relaxation and rejuvenation from soulful funk and rock trio Michael Montgomery Tribe. They’ll appear at Pip Moyer Recreation Center from 3:00pm-5:00pm. Montgomery has worked with names like The Jacksons, Sheena Easton, George Clinton/P. Funk and La Toya Jackson.
The second weekend of the festival 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 the spacious Eastport United Methodist Church at 7:00pm. Attendees are welcome to come dressed in the styles of clothing worn in the jazz heydays of the 1940s and 1950s.
On Saturday, November 15, events begin at 11:00am. Since the first year of the festival, morning concerts and lectures have been hugely popular. Held at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library, this one will feature the Ed Hrybyk Trio in a concert titled “Bass Traditions: Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford and More.” Listen to some amazing jazz and bring curiosity and ideas to the brief Q&A held afterward.
Catch a concert at 3:00pm the same day at Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, surrounded by a tapestry of trees. Enjoy the atmosphere as Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble offers the best in Americana in song and dance. The event will pay tribute to dancer, choreographer and Footworks founder Eileen Carson Schatz, who died in 2019. 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.
The festival will end with afternoon and evening events on Sunday, November 16. At 3:00pm, The Freedom Choir will perform 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 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 and can be purchased directly from the venue, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, at www.marylandhall.org/maryland-hall-presents.
Annapolis Jazz & Roots is an affiliate under the umbrella of the Annapolis Community Foundation. AJRF is grateful for support from the Maryland State Arts Council, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, Art in Public Places Commission, Anne Arundel County Public Library & Foundation and in-kind contributors KSP Communications and Jazz Beyond Borders.
Visit www.annapolisjazzandrootsfestival.com for information about artists, music and venues.
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