District Jazz

Local star Akua Allrich continued her rapid rise this month performing music from her latest album Uniquely Standard (Self Produced, 2012) at the historic Howard Theater on Washington, DC's U Street. An accomplished vocalist whose vibrant performances and inviting stage presence have built a loyal following and propelled her to the forefront of Washington, DC's main ...

Anat Cohen has received no shortage of accolades of late and her rise is a testament to her stunning capacities on clarinet and saxophone. She is no stranger to Washington, DC audiences either, packing clubs and concert halls from Bohemian Caverns to the Sixth and I Synagogue. Most recently, Cohen filled the Kennedy Center's Jazz Club, ...

It can never be said that the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz does anything halfway. Held annually at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, this year's competition and gala concert was ambitious and extravagant--equal parts a celebration of jazz drumming, a salute to women's past and present contributions to the art form, and a promotion for ...

DC Jazz Festival, Washington, DC June 1-10, 2012 With the summer heat descending on the nation's capital, the city transforms, its southern personality asserting itself. Ties loosen, linen suits make their first appearance, people mosey instead of dash, and the beats of jazz reverberate from venue after venue as the city welcomes the annual DC Jazz ...

Marking its 85th anniversary as a jazz venue, 2011 was a remarkable year for Washington, DC's Bohemian Caverns, solidifying its renewed reputation as DC's premier jazz club and a venue of national significance. The path to this point, however, was neither easy nor guaranteed.

The smoky clubs, dark corner joints, impromptu lofts, theaters, noisy dinner clubs, ...

DC Jazz Festival 2011 Washington, DC June 1-13, 2011

The DC Jazz Festival's seventh year was defined in equal measure by the event's now distinct combination of local acts and headline guests, spread throughout the city's stages, museums, and local clubs. Unlike many festivals, the DC Jazz Festival has maintained an exclusive focus ...

Jean-Michel Pilc / Ari Hoenig / François Moutin May 17, 20011 Blues Alley Washington, D.C.

Tumultuous, unpredictable, vibrant with variegated rhythms and tempos, shimmering with torrents of sound and spiraling tendrils of color, the Pilc-Moutin-Hoenig Trio's recent performance at Blues Alley proceeded less like an unveiling and more like ...

Vijay Iyer Trio Sixth & I Historic Synagogue Washington, DC April 30, 2011

Sponsored by the Washington Performing Arts Society, pianist Vijay Iyer's concert placed his innovative trio in the sumptuous setting of Washington, DC's Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. The domed ceilings and intricate décor provided an appropriate backdrop to Iyer's powerfully ...

Ben Williams Quintet Kennedy Center Jazz Club Washington, DC April 15, 2011

Winner of the 2009 Thelonious Monk Competition for bass (the competition focuses on a different instrument each year), innovative young artist Ben Williams brought his quintet to the Kennedy Center Jazz Club for an evening of entertaining, inventive music performed with ...

Monk Vocal Competition Kennedy Center Washington, D.C. October, 2010

One of the premier jazz events of the year, the annual Thelonious Monk competition rarely fails to deliver. Each year the jazz elite gather to celebrate the legacy of Thelonious Monk and to recognize up-and-coming talents of the jazz world via a competition that ...

Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival Kennedy Center Washington, DC May 20-22, 2010

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of her birth, this year's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival was dedicated to the music of its namesake. This focus lent the festival's 15th year at the Kennedy Center a special ...

“Let's try it again," he said, staring at the flat-screen monitors and twisting dozens of knobs and buttons. “That one was a little sharp. One more time."

From a bedroom in his red brick rambler in Oxon Hill, MD, hip hop producer Adrian “BuBu the Producer" Barnes is guiding me, a jazz singer, through a recording ...

Jon Irabagon Kennedy Center Washington D.C. October 30, 2009

Simple without being simplistic; straightforward without being strictly straight-ahead; unpretentious, yet artistically thoughtful; humble, yet full of youthful confidence, saxophonist Jon Irabagon, winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Competition, showcased a compelling mix of humor, technique, and engaging music during his October 30 concert ...

Overtone Quartet October 10, 2009 Washington, D.C.

The Overtone Quarter played together as a group for the first time in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater Saturday. The four musicians--Dave Holland, Jason Moran, Chris Potter, and Eric Harland--each took the stage as a master of his art, and the quartet featured musical ...