The Residency Roundtable with Ultra Naté
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Join us at Charm City Cultural Cultivation (CCCC) for a rare conversation with the current Alice and Franklin Cooley Composer in residence, Ultra Naté. the conversation marks a historic moment in Baltimore music history, gathering the collaborators, producers, and cultural architects who shaped Naté’s career and the city’s house music legacy. The conversation will be moderated by writer and CCCC operations manager Teri Henderson.
Light refreshments will be served. Capacity is limited, and RSVP is required.
This program is produced in partnership with CCCC and will take place at their headquarters in Baltimore, located at 3100 Greenmount Avenue.
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Free. Registration required.
.
Location
CCCC Headquarters – 3100 Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21218
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About Ultra Naté
Ultra Naté is the second BMA Alice and Franklin Cooley Composer in Residence. She debuted in 1989 with the underground favorite “It’s Over Now,” followed by her influential 1990 album Blue Notes in the Basement, and became one of the first house artists to sign a major-label deal, with Warner Music UK. Her catalogue of dance-floor classics includes “Twisted,” “Automatic,” “Party Girl,” “Found a Cure,” “How Long (Ultra Flava),” and the international Top 10 hit “If You Could Read My Mind.” Her enduring anthem “Free,” celebrated for its message of liberation, marked its 25th anniversary in 2022 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Pride and Ibiza anthems of all time.
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Roundtable Collaborators
The conversation will feature key figures from Naté’s career and Baltimore’s house music history, including:
Bill Coleman: Naté’s manager since the beginning of her career, Coleman has been pivotal to her career sustainability through both creative input and business management. A former Billboard Dance columnist (1987–1990), he founded the production and management company Peace Bisquit, which celebrates its 36th anniversary in 2026. He has written for PAPER magazine, sat on the founding editorial board of OUT Magazine, and freelanced as a commentator for the BBC and BET. Coleman can also speak to the origins of dance and house music as it formed in New York among marginalized communities and ballroom culture.
The Basement Boys (Teddy Douglas, Thommy Davis & Jay Steinhour): Formed in Baltimore in 1986, the Basement Boys were Naté’s first producers, shaping the raw early demos that led to her signing with Warner UK and launching her career. The trio is also behind Crystal Waters’ early success and the 1991 gold single “Gypsy Woman,” later sampled by artists including Mary Mary, Pitbull, and T.I. In the mid-1990s, Douglas and Steinhour founded Basement Boys Records, home to club anthems from Jasper St. Co., Those Guys, and others. Davis continues to record and tour internationally and remains a leading voice on the origins and evolution of Baltimore house music.
Gladys Pizarro: Pizarro helped build Strictly Rhythm Records into one of the defining labels of New York underground house music, releasing hit records to commercial success worldwide. As Naté’s A&R, she was directly responsible for signing her to the label and, alongside label owner Mark Finkelstein, gave her the creative freedom to make the records she wanted to make.
Wayne Davis: Davis is considered a cultural architect of Baltimore house music, directly responsible for importing New York’s underground sound and club culture to the city. Over four decades, he built platforms through his various venues spanning nightclub design, sound, and programming—that introduced generations of Baltimore youth to house music, early electronic rave, and Baltimore Club.
Mookie “Maurice” Brock: A Baltimore native with nearly 50 years of ties to the city’s dance community, Brock began spinning vinyl in the mid-1970s at his late uncle O’Dell Brock’s club, O’Dell’s, which helped establish Baltimore as a dance music hub. He honed his craft there under mentor Wayne Davis before moving into sound system maintenance at Fantasy and, for more than 25 years, Paradox, where he served as in-house sound technician.
Jada Givenchy: A Baltimore-based house music artist and host of Audio Fusion on WEAA 88.9. Best known for her work in the East Coast soulful and deep house scene, including her vocal track “Inspiration (Heaven Sent).” Naté’s stylist and a prominent member of the Deep Sugar Squad.
Jonathan Knox: Knox is an original member of The Iconic House of Revlon, helping bring ballroom culture to Baltimore, and a co-founder of Deep Sugar. Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, and a graduate of Howard University, Knox came to real estate by way of hospitality, where he was pinned as a member of the International Concierge Association Les Clefs d’Or known as “the Gold Keys,” an honor held by only about 4,000 people worldwide. He has been the recipient of the numerous awards including the Visit Baltimore Hospitality Award, the Silver Plume Award for Hospitality/Concierge Excellence, and a Maryland Hotel Lodging Association Stars of the Industry award.
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About the Moderator
Teri Henderson is CCCC’s Operations Manager, an independent curator, and author. She previously served as Arts and Culture Editor of the Baltimore Beat, and her writing has appeared in Artforum, The Washington Post, and BmoreArt, among others. In 2020 she founded the global platform Black Collagists, which led to her book Black Collagists: The Book (2021). She serves on the boards of Making Space Bmore and Art+Feminism, and is a fellow of the Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Program and the Maynard Institute.
Light refreshments will be served. Capacity is limited, and RSVP is required.
This program is produced in partnership with CCCC and will take place at their headquarters in Baltimore, located at 3100 Greenmount Avenue.
.
Free. Registration required.
.
Location
CCCC Headquarters – 3100 Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21218
.
About Ultra Naté
Ultra Naté is the second BMA Alice and Franklin Cooley Composer in Residence. She debuted in 1989 with the underground favorite “It’s Over Now,” followed by her influential 1990 album Blue Notes in the Basement, and became one of the first house artists to sign a major-label deal, with Warner Music UK. Her catalogue of dance-floor classics includes “Twisted,” “Automatic,” “Party Girl,” “Found a Cure,” “How Long (Ultra Flava),” and the international Top 10 hit “If You Could Read My Mind.” Her enduring anthem “Free,” celebrated for its message of liberation, marked its 25th anniversary in 2022 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Pride and Ibiza anthems of all time.
.
Roundtable Collaborators
The conversation will feature key figures from Naté’s career and Baltimore’s house music history, including:
Bill Coleman: Naté’s manager since the beginning of her career, Coleman has been pivotal to her career sustainability through both creative input and business management. A former Billboard Dance columnist (1987–1990), he founded the production and management company Peace Bisquit, which celebrates its 36th anniversary in 2026. He has written for PAPER magazine, sat on the founding editorial board of OUT Magazine, and freelanced as a commentator for the BBC and BET. Coleman can also speak to the origins of dance and house music as it formed in New York among marginalized communities and ballroom culture.
The Basement Boys (Teddy Douglas, Thommy Davis & Jay Steinhour): Formed in Baltimore in 1986, the Basement Boys were Naté’s first producers, shaping the raw early demos that led to her signing with Warner UK and launching her career. The trio is also behind Crystal Waters’ early success and the 1991 gold single “Gypsy Woman,” later sampled by artists including Mary Mary, Pitbull, and T.I. In the mid-1990s, Douglas and Steinhour founded Basement Boys Records, home to club anthems from Jasper St. Co., Those Guys, and others. Davis continues to record and tour internationally and remains a leading voice on the origins and evolution of Baltimore house music.
Gladys Pizarro: Pizarro helped build Strictly Rhythm Records into one of the defining labels of New York underground house music, releasing hit records to commercial success worldwide. As Naté’s A&R, she was directly responsible for signing her to the label and, alongside label owner Mark Finkelstein, gave her the creative freedom to make the records she wanted to make.
Wayne Davis: Davis is considered a cultural architect of Baltimore house music, directly responsible for importing New York’s underground sound and club culture to the city. Over four decades, he built platforms through his various venues spanning nightclub design, sound, and programming—that introduced generations of Baltimore youth to house music, early electronic rave, and Baltimore Club.
Mookie “Maurice” Brock: A Baltimore native with nearly 50 years of ties to the city’s dance community, Brock began spinning vinyl in the mid-1970s at his late uncle O’Dell Brock’s club, O’Dell’s, which helped establish Baltimore as a dance music hub. He honed his craft there under mentor Wayne Davis before moving into sound system maintenance at Fantasy and, for more than 25 years, Paradox, where he served as in-house sound technician.
Jada Givenchy: A Baltimore-based house music artist and host of Audio Fusion on WEAA 88.9. Best known for her work in the East Coast soulful and deep house scene, including her vocal track “Inspiration (Heaven Sent).” Naté’s stylist and a prominent member of the Deep Sugar Squad.
Jonathan Knox: Knox is an original member of The Iconic House of Revlon, helping bring ballroom culture to Baltimore, and a co-founder of Deep Sugar. Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, and a graduate of Howard University, Knox came to real estate by way of hospitality, where he was pinned as a member of the International Concierge Association Les Clefs d’Or known as “the Gold Keys,” an honor held by only about 4,000 people worldwide. He has been the recipient of the numerous awards including the Visit Baltimore Hospitality Award, the Silver Plume Award for Hospitality/Concierge Excellence, and a Maryland Hotel Lodging Association Stars of the Industry award.
.
About the Moderator
Teri Henderson is CCCC’s Operations Manager, an independent curator, and author. She previously served as Arts and Culture Editor of the Baltimore Beat, and her writing has appeared in Artforum, The Washington Post, and BmoreArt, among others. In 2020 she founded the global platform Black Collagists, which led to her book Black Collagists: The Book (2021). She serves on the boards of Making Space Bmore and Art+Feminism, and is a fellow of the Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Program and the Maynard Institute.
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Where is it happening?
3100 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD 21218-3486, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherBaltimore Museum of Art
