Left Bank Jazz Society


The Left Bank Jazz Society was a Baltimore, Maryland-based organization that promoted jazz in Baltimore. It formed in 1964, hosting a series of concerts featuring nationally acclaimed performers like John Coltrane and Duke Ellington. Recordings of these performances were tied up in legal disputes and few were officially released until 2000.
Left Bank was founded by Vernon L. Welsh and Benny Kearse. Welsh recorded more than 800 jazz performances at the Famous Ballroom during the 1960s and 1970s. The tapes recorded by Welsh had been stored at the Morgan State University library for years. Veteran record producer Joel Dorn of the Label M record company, who acquired the tapes, has begun reissuing them and they have found favor with critics and jazz aficionados.
For seven years, Kearse was president of the group, which sponsored 47 concerts a season at its peak. The Left Bank's first gig was held at the Al-Ho Club, in the 2500 block of Frederick Ave., the year it was founded. After three moves, the society established a long run at the Famous Ballroom in 1967. Portions of Robert Mugge's 1980 documentary, , were shot at the Famous Ballroom during the Left Bank's residency there. The hall is the site of the expanded Charles Theatre.

Selected discography

As producer and live performance venue