Articles by Mark Edelman

Live Review

Brandee Younger at the Music Center at Strathmore

by Mark Edelman
July 10, 2026

Brandee Younger Music Center at Strathmore North Bethesda, MD June 11, 2026 Cecil McLorin Salvant's return to this North Bethesda citadel of great music was a much-anticipated DC jazz event, especially since the demise of the Kennedy Center's esteemed program. It turns out the most memorable part of the gig for jazz lovers was not the acclaimed chanteuse's set--more on that below--but the well- crafted forty or so minutes delivered by jazz harpist Brandee Younger. ...

Live Review

Michael Feinstein and the U.S. Marine Corps Band at The Music Center at Strathmore

by Mark Edelman
June 13, 2026

Michael Feinstein and the U.S. Marine Corps Band The Music Center at Strathmore Bethesda, MD April 26, 2026 “The President's Own," they're called--not as popular a moniker these days with old orangehead closing the Kennedy Center and wreaking whatever havoc he dreams up online at two in the morning. But give the United States Marine Corps Band a break. These are some of the country's finest instrumentalists and their chops were on full display at the ...

Live Review

The Hot Sardines at Birdland

by Mark Edelman
June 8, 2026

The Hot Sardines Birdland New York, NY April 14, 2026 A noodle shop near Times Square may have marked their beginning, but the 9:30 show down the street at Birdland was the spot for pianist Evan Palazzo and vocalist Elizabeth Bougerol to serve up some classic American jazz. Their septet, The Hot Sardines, enthralled a packed house at the 44th Street temple of jazz. Joined intermittently by hoofer John Manzari, the combo brought back some great ...

Live Review

Diana Krall at The Music Center at Strathmore

by Mark Edelman
April 24, 2026

Diana Krall The Music Center at Strathmore North Bethesda, MD March 26, 2026 Downsizing gets a bad name these days, but when Diana Krall reduced the big stage at the Strathmore Music Center in North Bethesda, MD., to the intimate scale of a smoky piano bar, nobody in the sold-out crowd was complaining. Handsomely attired in a simple black suit and silver slippers, the golden-maned singer made it clear why she's been one of the ...

Live Review

Emmet Cohen at Strathmore Music Center

by Mark Edelman
April 2, 2026

Emmet Cohen Strathmore Music Center 100 Years of Miles and ColtraneBethesda, MD March 24, 2026 Amidst the gnashing of teeth over the demise of the Kennedy Center and the departure of its jazz series and estimable leader Kevin Struthers, DC music fans have had little to smile about in recent weeks. But, tucked up north, ten or so stops on the Red Line in Bethesda, MD, the Strathmore Music Center offers a wonderful ray of ...

Live Review

Stacey Kent At Birdland

by Mark Edelman
January 14, 2026

Stacey Kent Birdland New York, NYDecember 17, 2025 Coolly attired in sedate, simple black trousers and matching jacket, Stacey Kent warmed up a sold-out crowd with an eclectic set on a frigid Wednesday at New York City's celebrated jazz bôite, Birdland. Backed by longtime pianist Art Hirahara on the Yamaha grand, Tim Hubbard on bass and reedman (and Kent's husband of 34 years) Jim Tomlinson, Kent offered up a cool recital of her much-lauded, award-winning jazz ...

Live Review

Eliane Elias at Blues Alley

by Mark Edelman
December 10, 2025

Eliane EliasBlues Alley Washington, DC November 9, 2025 “Was that fun?" queried jazz legend Eliane Elias midway through her fast-paced samba-infused set at Blues Alley. “Yeah" roared back the sold out crowd, happy to leave behind the angst pervading DC (and much of the country) and let the soothing, playful and moving stylings of a great pianist/vocalist and her top-notch combo roll over us like waves on the beach. A regular alum (her ...

Live Review

Natalie Douglas at Birdland

by Mark Edelman
November 15, 2025

Natalie Douglas Birdland New York, NY October 27, 2025 Songstress Natalie Douglas, bedecked in a shimmering gold outfit, presented her popular tribute to the seventies on a lovely autumn night at Birdland in the heart of the Broadway theater district. Her favorite decade--the years between 1971 and 1980--offered up a rich motherlode of material for Douglas, who bounced around between funk and soul, pop and movie themes to present a full-throated paean to this golden ...

Live Review

Oscar Peterson 100 birthday celebration at Birdland

by Mark Edelman
September 2, 2025

Makoto Ozone, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton Birdland Oscar Peterson 100th birthday New York, NY August 15, 2025 The “Maharajah of the Keyboard" as Duke Ellington dubbed Oscar Peterson--or, to his friends, simply O.P.--would have turned one hundred in August, reason enough to remember the consummate Canadian pianist at that hallowed house of jazz, Birdland in New York City. In the nimble hands of Peterson protege Makoto Ozone, bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton, ...

Live Review

Dave Kline At Blues Alley

by Mark Edelman
June 28, 2025

Dave Kline Blues AlleyWashington, DC June 20, 2025 Keyboard, guitar, bass and drums: a standard jazz quartet, no doubt, no argument. But add electric violin, trombone and the Chinese dulcimer and you've got something entirely different. Dave Kline and friends brought that unique line-up and a passel of original tunes to Blues Alley in DC's Georgetown district. The result?--as tasty and exotic as the jambalaya and shrimp and grits we enjoyed while Kline and company ...