We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Johnnie Baltimore. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Johnnie below.
Johnnie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?
My first dollar earned as a Jazz vocalist was with The Marc Payne Quartet. I met Marc at one of his shows. He invited me to a Monday night jazz jam session pretty soon after. I ran down a list of tunes I knew well and he chose “All of Me” in the style of Sarah Vaughan for us to jam to. I’d memorized Sarah’s entire scat solo, so I hoped to impress. The audience was locked in and showed so much love for us!
A few months later, Marc had a show at Rudy’s Jazz Room lined up where he wanted to explore a set featuring a vocalist and he chose me as his featured guest. I was beyond excited for the opportunity! The show consisted of a hybrid of straight ahead, contemporary, and R&B tunes. He asked me to sing “Green Eyes” by Erykah Badu, “Tight” by Betty Carter, “Afro Blue” arranged by Robert Glasper, “Guess Who I Saw Today” as performed by Nancy Wilson, and the traditional hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.
Having belted out Green Eyes from my teenage bedroom so many years prior, I never imagined I’d one day perform it live. That was a very sentimental, full circle moment for me.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I first dipped my toe into Jazz studies while in college at Michigan State University. I wasn’t a music major, but I did a couple independent studies within the jazz program there. This was many years ago.
A couple years ago, I started taking intro vocal jazz courses at the Nashville Jazz Workshop which got me excited about studying jazz again.
I’m most proud of my optimism and tenacity to pursue this career after 35. I’m also very grateful for the support I have from my family, friends and everyone coming along this journey with me.
I want to be seen as an artist who truly wants to connect while their audience emotionally. Studying jazz brings me great joy and much solitude. I hope that comes out in my performances.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I would love to see society challenging their minds as listeners of music more often.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
That I’m not necessary concerned with being formulaic in my approach. I find jazz studies to be very structured and even sometimes a bit rigid. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, though. I think solid form and much repetition sets the paradigm for me to be able to go off the page – to explore what’s not written there on the chart.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @johnniebaltimore
