Abstract

Gwen Nichols (1916-2008) was a music teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools. She studied with W. Llewellyn Wilson at Douglass High School and earned a degree from Coppin State. After retiring in 2002, she opened her own studio and taught privately. In this interview with Elizabeth Schaaf, Nichols discusses her musical training and her teaching career.

Abstract Jacqueline Owings (1931-2018) was a Baltimore choral singer. She studied with W. Llewellyn Wilson at Douglass High School and earned a degree from Coppin Teachers College. Owings was a soloist with the Girls Choir of the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts, the Grace Presbyterian Choir, and the Knox Presbyterian Choir. She and her husband, James, performed with the Choral Club, the Morris Queen Chorale, the Baltimore Chapel Choir, and the Metropolitan United Methodist Church Choir. In this...

Abstract

Montell Poulson (1924-2007) was a jazz bassist based in Baltimore. He studied at Dunbar High School and Morgan State University and served in the South Pacific during World War II. He was a member of the Rivers Chambers Orchestra and performed regularly at the Royal Theatre and the Gayety in Baltimore and the Howard Theater in Washington. Poulson toured with Ethel Ennis, Fats Domino, and Billie Holiday. Interview by Elizabeth Schaaf.

Abstract Alfred E. Prettyman is a book publisher and college professor. He is the son of Edward Prettyman, a trumpeter and the conductor of the Colored Park Band of Baltimore. Alfred played a large role in changing the content of high school and college textbooks to include African Americans and Native Americans. He is the co-founder of Emerson Hall Publishers and the Society for the Study of Africana Philosophy. In this interview with Elizabeth Schaaf, he discusses his family's activity in the...

Abstract Lloyd Eugene Prettyman (1908-2006) was a bassist and French horn player for various musical ensembles based in Baltimore. Educated at Douglass High School and New York University, he studied double bass with A. Jack Thomas. While at Douglass, he went on the vaudeville circuit with a group called the Icy Hots, with Hamilton Murray, Frank Trigg, Teddy Plummer, Jimmy Waters, and Avon Long. He played French horn with the Masonic Band and the City Colored Park Band led by his brother, Edward...

Abstract Morris Queen (1931-2003) was a signer, organist, and music educator. During World War II he performed and toured as a member of the Great Lakes Singers and the Great Lakes Octet. After the war he attended Howard University, where he received degrees in music and in education. Queen was the organist at Sharp Street Methodist Church for more than 50 years and taught in Baltimore City Schools and the Peabody Conservatory's Summer Youth Project. He was the founder and conductor of the Morris...

Abstract

Interview by Elizabeth Schaaf of Kenneth Corprew, Ronald Rooks, and Jacques E. Leeds about the Baltimore jazz scene from the 1950s to 1980s.

Ronald Rooks is an appraiser of art and manuscripts and the owner of Merryman Antiques in Baltimore. Kenneth Corprew is a television producer. Jacques E. Leeds (1927-2018) was a lawyer and the first husband of jazz singer Ethel Ennis.

Abstract

A graduate of Morehouse College, Murray Schmoke (1928-2007) came to Baltimore in the late 1940s to work as a chemist. In 1956 he joined the Great Hymns Choir, which was directed by Daniel Rideout. In 1965 he assumed responsibility for the choir's rehearsals and in 1975 he became its director. His son, Kurt Schmoke, was mayor of Baltimore from 1987 to 1999.

Abstract

Marion T. Smith was a music educator who taught at Douglass High School in Baltimore. She began teaching at Douglass in about 1950 under the guidance of Georgeanna Chester. Smith taught many students who would go on to have a career in music, such as the singers Veronica Tyler, Junetta Jones, and Daniel Comegys. After teaching at Douglass for 18 years, Smith continued her career as a music teacher at Roland Park.

Abstract

Gary Thomas is a jazz saxophonist and flautist from Baltimore. He was a member of Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition band and has worked with many notable jazz musicians. Thomas was the director and chair of Jazz Studies at the Peabody Conservatory from the department's founding in 2001 until 2017. In this first interview with Delandria Mills, Thomas discusses his early career and his work as a faculty member at Peabody.

Abstract

Gary Thomas is a jazz saxophonist and flautist from Baltimore. He was a member of Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition band and has worked with many notable jazz musicians. Thomas was the director and chair of Jazz Studies at the Peabody Conservatory from the department's founding in 2001 until 2017. In this second interview with Delandria Mills, Thomas discusses his work as a faculty member at Peabody and his career as a touring musician.