Q+A with Baltimore Jazz Festival founder Landon White

Landon White, is a highly skilled civil rights advocate that believes each day as an opportunity to help remove barriers that threaten equality in business and in the community. As a serial entrepreneur, Mr. White nack for sales and marketing has led to partnerships with Fortune 50 companies, high-end sports figures and higher-education institutions. His love for traveling and Baltimore led him to create Astute Marketing Group and the Baltimore Jazz Festival. 

While Mr. White played many rec league games in Chick Webb’s gym as a youth, he had no idea Chick Webb was one of the best Drummers of his generation. Mr. White became obsessed with jazz musicians and fell in love with the music at the Detroit Jazz Festival. 

Mr. White knew he wanted to bring something like this to Baltimore.  In 2018, Mr. White immediately reached out to many of the top jazz artists in the Greater Baltimore area. In 2019 the Festival was headlined by Berkely Professor, Chelsey Green, and Grammy Award Winning- Humber College Professor, Larnell Lewis. Both headlined international Jazz festivals outside of the US that year. The Baltimore Jazz Festival has grown from 500 attendees in 2019 to 3,000 in 2022. The 2023 Baltimore Jazz Festival will be held on June 10-11, 2023 at the Wyman Park Dell.