Johns Hopkins instructors among musicians who will pay tribute to Beatles

Several Johns Hopkins University instructors will lend their musical talents to a Beatles tribute on Saturday at Baltimore's Creative Alliance to celebrate the Fab Four's arrival on American radio.

"The Beatles—50 Years on Air!" will commemorate the Dec. 26, 1963, U.S. release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The night will be emceed by a duo from the Homewood Art Workshops: longtime friends Craig Hankin, its director, and instructor Tom Chalkley, a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer.

The "house band" for the night will be The Stone Hill All-Stars, featuring Daniel Naiman, a professor and chair of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics in the Whiting School of Engineering, who plays saxophone and bass.

Rounding out the JHU connections is alumnus Robert Friedman, a founding member of the band Mambo Combo who plays keyboard and guitar; Chalkley says Friedman will be playing on some of the songs.

Hankin and Chalkley will also get in on the act. "We go back to high school as partners in crime, art, and music," Chalkley said. "We don't perform together often enough, but we had a band in 1979-80 and have never recovered."

The Johns Hopkins Beatles fans are sharing the bill with bands and solo acts including The Honey Dewdrops, Arty Hill, Brian Simms, Linda Nelson, and the Hello Strangers.

The Creative Alliance is located at 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, MD 21224. Two shows are planned at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets for both shows ($17 general public, $12 Creative Alliance members) can be purchased online.