By Rosa Pryor 

Mildred “Millie” Battle well-known jazz advocate and President of Left Bank Jazz Society and Board Member of Jazz Expressways Foundation, Inc passed away on Friday, February 21st from bladder cancer at Meadow Park Rehabilitation & Health Care Center on Rolling Road. Funeral Arrangements were not made by press deadline. For more information go to my Facebook page.

Hello my dear friends, I hope everything is good on your end. This has been a long and busy month because we had three major events going on with not only the City of Baltimore, but the state of Maryland. First of all, February is Black History Month, the second weekend of this month is Valentine’s Day, then it was Presidents Day last week, which gave a lot of folks a long weekend, and Feb. 26 was Ash Wednesday.

I really had a lot to do between the book signing and Speaking. I did a book signing and spoke at Arch Social Club to some John Hopkins Students, who were video and photographers studying Baltimore’s Black History. Every Saturday this month, including this Feb. 29, I was at the Avenue Market for the “Avenue Market & Pennsylvania Avenue Salute to African American Culture,” which highlights many vendors selling everything in arts and crafts located 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. I will see you there.

This week I want to tell you about the Baltimore Chamber Jazz Society; the host of one of Baltimore’s premier jazz concert series for over 28 years. The Baltimore Chamber Jazz Society has a rich history of bringing the world’s finest jazz artists to this region for memorable performances in an intimate setting.  On March 1 at 5 p.m., they will present Catherine Russell, who is a rare talent.

The Baltimore Chamber Jazz Society presents Catherine Russell, a jazz and blues vocalist who can sing virtually anything. Her repertoire features gems from the 1920s through the present. She will be performing on Sunday, March 1 at 5 p.m. with Mark Shane on piano, Jon-Erik Kellso on trumpet, Tal Ronen on bass and Mark McLean on drums. The concert will take place at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. in Baltimore. For more information, call 410-385-5888.

A genuine jazz and blues vocalist, who can sing virtually anything. Her voice is full-blown femininity incarnated; A dusky, stalwart and soulful instrument that radiates interpretive power yet remains touchingly vulnerable. Hot dog! She sounds like I am talking about me when I used to sing in the heydays. So check her out, you just might like the show.

The St. James Brotherhood of St. Andrew Chapter will host a “Jazz Vespers Concert at St. James Episcopal Church on W. Lafayette & N. Arlington Avenues featuring the Tim Warfield Organ Band on March 8 from 5-7 p.m. For more information for this fundraiser, call Cynthia Easley at 410-323-7295

I want to let my Baltimore folks and musicians who know and love Ms. Bi Bi Fatima, one of Baltimore’s beloved jazz vocalists, know that she was hospitalized as of February 16th. She is in the University of Maryland Hospital and  is in a lot of pain. She is in need of your prayers.

African Art Museum of Maryland is now located in Columbia Maryland’s Long Reach Village Center, 9775 Cloudleap Ct., Suite 12, Columbia, Maryland. In keeping jazz and art alive and introducing their new venue, the organization will introduce the space and Black History Month observance on Feb. 29, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. They invite you, free of charge, to sample art objects, photos & music, with light refreshments. You can meet descendants of the first twenty Angolans to reach (today’s) Fort Monroe, Va., 400 years ago. For more information, call 301-490-6070.

Finally again, I want to let you know that I am working on my third and final book named: “Black History in Baltimore & Maryland: Who? What? When? & Where? 1950s-1980s.” I’m looking for personal photos from this era of you, your families, friends, your neighborhood, communities, parks, beaches, movie theaters, night clubs, your favorite restaurants and bars; organizations, schools, colleges, musicians, churches, ministers, politicians, social clubs; radio and televisions personalities; pictures of your neighborhoods and the hustlers, the number writers; Boosters, etc. You get the idea! Give me a call or email me if you have any questions.

Melodic Intersect will be live in concert at An Die Musik on March 1, 5 p.m. 409 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. Melodic Intersect is a Genre Blending World-Fusion Group of rock, Indian Classical, Hip-Hop & Jazz. Musicians are Hidayat Khan, Enayet Hossan, Greg Hatza, Kamal Sabri, Saleiman Azizi and Hans Utter. (“Have fun trying to pronounce these names”). Terrible situation! The music got to sound good!

P.S. Just in case you missed my column in the Afro-American Newspaper Valentine’s Weekend, I was not in the hard copy, but you will find my column on line on the AFRO website. Check it out and leave your comments. Thanks!

Well my dear friends, I have to go now. Remember if you need me, call me at 410-833-9474 or email me at rosapryor@aol.com. Until next time, I’m musically yours.