Earl Arnett: "A Jazz Romance"

Over the course of his life, Earl Arnett has been a newspaperman, an arts critic, a cabaret owner, a cultural ambassador, and a professor. But the role he has loved most is that of husband to the late Ethel Ennis, Baltimore’s First Lady of Jazz.

From the time of their marriage in 1967—just months after the Supreme Court ruled laws banning interracial marriage unconstitutional—until her death in 2019, Arnett and Ennis were personally and professionally inseparable, devoting their lives to each other and to showcasing Ennis’s exceptional talent in forums from West Baltimore to China, Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. Along the way, they encountered—and in many cases befriended—fascinating figures from the realms of politics, show business, business, and the streets of their beloved Baltimore.

Now, in A Jazz Romance, Arnett recounts episodes from that life with wit, incisive clarity, and the wounded wisdom of a widower still besotted with his late wife and the quietly epic life they lived.

About the Author:

During his 60-year residency in Baltimore, Earl Arnett has been a newspaper reporter and feature writer, magazine columnist, TV critic, music entrepreneur, college professor, novelist and essayist, community activist and cultural ambassador. During most of these years, he was also married to Ethel Ennis, Baltimore’s most famous, living jazz singer. Prior to Baltimore, Arnett was a military brat in Indiana, Washington DC, California, Austria and Japan. He graduated from high school in Tokyo, matriculated with honors from Wabash College in 1962 and spent three years as an Army intelligence agent in California and Germany. When he married Ethel in 1967—such marriages were still illegal in 18 states— Arnett moved into her small row house in West Baltimore, which they used as a home base for musical and personal travels around the US, Europe and Asia. Over the course of this varied life, Arnett has edited one book and numerous newsletters, produced two works of fiction, written over a thousand articles and served as lead writer of a revised, standard cultural travel guide to Maryland.

About the Moderator:

Scott Brown is an independent jazz researcher. He has written two books on James P. Johnson and has published several articles and lectured widely about jazz. He is a practicing physician and holds a master’s degree in jazz history and research. His most recent book is Speakeasies to Symphonies: The Jazz Genius of James P. Johnson.

About the Program:

• Doors will open to registered attendees at 6 pm.
• A local bookseller will be on-site and have books available for purchase.
• Free parking vouchers are available to program attendees who park at the Franklin Street Garage (15 W. Franklin Street) after 4 pm. Ask Pratt event staff for your parking voucher prior to or after the program.
• There is no registration required for virtual attendance, simply visit the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Facebook or Youtube page

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