About the Artist
John R. Lamkin, II, Ph.D.
Formally the Director of Bands and the Coordinator of Music Education at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, John R. Lamkin II received his Bachelors from South Carolina State University, his Masters from Morgan University, and his Doctorate from The University of Maryland at College Park. All his academic degrees have been in Music Education.
Dr. Lamkin taught in the public schools in South Carolina and in Baltimore Maryland before joining the faculty at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 1984 as the Director of Bands and an Instructor in the Music Department. He subsequently became the Coordinator of the Music Division of the Department of Fine Arts and the Coordinator of Music Education. Upon retirement in 2014, he was conferred Professor Emeritus from the university.
Not only is Dr. Lamkin a professional educator, he is a professional trumpet player who is equally adept in the jazz, classical and sacred genres. His performance credits include performances with the Manhattans, Stephanie Mills, Maurice Hynes, Sonny Stitt, Vaughn Freeman, Frank Foster, Larry Riddley, the African American Jazz Caucus Big Band, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Cyrus Chestnut, Charles Earland, Charles Fambrow, Keter Betts, Ralph Peterson, Harvey Mason, the Dells, and K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Locally Lamkin has performed with the Zim Zimeral Orchestra, the Baltimore City Big Band, the Hank Levy Legacy Band, the Whit Williams Big Band, the Lynn Gray Orchestra on the Eastern Shore, the Dale Corn Big Band, the Blue Moon Big Band, the Washington Jazz Battalion, and the Peabody Jazz Ensemble. Dr. Lamkin has also performed with his own jazz and jazz/rock groups in various nightclubs in the Baltimore and Washington D.C.area, and for numerous parties, dances and weddings.
In 1984, Dr. Lamkin recorded his first album, titled “Hot,” on which he wrote all but one of the compositions.
Currently Dr. Lamkin regularly performs with his “Favorite’s” Jazz Quintet. Enamored by the 1950s, 60s and 70s jazz quintets lead by Art Blakey, Horace Silver, and Miles Davis and many others, Lamkins quintet specializes in presenting a repertoire of “straight ahead” jazz standards and originals. His group serves as a platform for area musicians who yearn, as he does, to play “straight ahead jazz.” In June of 2014, Dr. Lamkin received the “Jazz Heroes” Award from the Jazz Journalist Association for having a significant impact on jazz music in the Baltimore community.
In 2018, Dr. Lamkin produced his second recording, a CD titled “Transitions.” Of the ten compositions on the CD, Dr. Lamkin wrote and arranged eight, and made arrangements of the other two.
As a child, Dr. Lamkin grew up in Atlantic City during a time when live jazz music filled many of its streets, and was an integral part of the community’s entertainment district; especially during the summer. It was during these formative years that he fell in love with music, particularly the sound of jazz, and realized then that he was called to dedicate his life to the perpetuation of our American Musical Treasure – Jazz.
Dr Lamkin was married to the late Eartha S. Lamkin, who was an in-demand vocalist and a successful educator. Together they raised three children: John II, David, and Jocelyn. Currently Dr. Lamkin has five grandchildren.
