Nov. 5
Once upon a time it seemed that New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton was the reincarnation of Louis Armstrong, with his bright virtuosic phrases and Big Easy swing. Then came 2003’s Sonic Trance and last year’s Into the Blue, which transplanted Payton into slow, spacy fusion jams that had more in common with Bitches Brew than Satchmo Plays W.C. Handy. Though he now grounds himself with electronics (and occasionally even techno beats), Payton hasn’t sacrificed his roots in blues, lyricism, and swing—he just lifts them into the stratosphere. Payton performs with his quartet at 8 and 10 pm at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Avenue NW. $30.

Nov. 7
On the other hand, Marcus Strickland jumps freely back and forth between acoustic and electric musical projects. The tenor saxophonist has worked with drummers Roy Haynes and Jeff “Tain” Watts as well as the two (equal and opposite) major trumpeters of the era, the traditionalist Wynton Marsalis and experimentalist Dave Douglas, and finds a comfortable and unique niche in all settings. That also applies to his own bands – Strickland leads both the Twi-Life group, which flirts with electro-funk and hip-hop, and a straight-ahead trio. It’s the latter that appears at Bohemian Caverns at 9 and 11 pm, featuring Strickland’s identical twin brother E.J. on drums and DC native and this year’s Thelonious Monk Competition winner Ben Williams on bass. Don’t be fooled: the acoustic trio will offer plenty of surprises from the other side of the fence.

Read More “Jazz Setlist: Nov. 5 – 11″ »

It’s a rare jazz musician whose work earns its own name—and rarer still in an enthusiastic but small scene like D.C.’s. Yet Nasar Abadey—the District’s dominant jazz drummer, who performs this weekend at Bohemian Caverns with his Supernova ensemble—calls his music “Multi-D.” It locates its roots in the “spiritual jazz” movement that John Coltrane and his disciples developed in the ’60s and ’70s, but rarely stays there.

The sole Supernova album, 2000’s Mirage, mixes musical elements of bebop, Afro-Cuban and -Brazilian, fusion, funk, Eastern, and even new-age music atop its foundation of avant-garde intensity a la Coltrane.  Abadey, a Cheverly resident and teacher at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory, explains that the name “Multi-D” is derived from the music’s questing “in multiple directions, and also in and out of multiple dimensions at the same time.”

A devout Sufi—the mystical branch of the Islamic faith—Abadey finds in his music a means of communion with higher spiritual planes. “Sometimes I’m practicing down in the basement, all by myself, and I hear voices saying ‘Yeah! Yeah, go ‘head, yeah!’” he says. “I open my eyes and I look around…and no one’s there. And that, to me, is spirits in a spirit world who are communicating with me, and they are inspiring me to continue.”
Read More “Nasar Abadey: Travels in Multi-D” »

Oct. 30
The Brooklyn-born pianist Randy Weston was reared in blues and gospel, grew up with some of bebop’s revolutionaries, and as an adult began exploring musical traditions from all across the African continent—from Somalia to Nigeria to Morocco. His vision manages to assimilate all of those sources into an insoluble whole, equally able to interact with a Harlem big band or the Master Musicians of Jajouka. Weston’s music encompasses many musical traditions and also many human experiences: His sound can be dark or joyful, gnarled or straightforward, folksy or erudite—sometimes all at once. The only two things you’re sure to encounter at a Weston concert are the fierce but complex rhythm he generates with his percussive piano style and the profound emotional impact that explodes out of every performance, no matter what he plays. Weston’s African Rhythms Trio performs at 8 P.M. and 10 p.m. at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $30.

Read More “Jazz Setlist, Oct. 29 – Nov. 5″ »

Oct. 23
With his gravity-defying hair and temperamental attack on the piano, comparisons between Eric Lewis and Beethoven are probably inevitable. They’re also apt: Lewis is a brilliant talent who loves to throw conventions to the wolves. His solo sets tend to include jazz standards, pop songs, rock anthems, even TV and movie themes—whatever gets his audience’s attention. As if that were ever a problem. The flamboyant Lewis treats his piano as though he were up against it in a boxing ring, giving jabs and feints while giving his whole body a workout on the bench. Lewis performs at 9:30 p.m. at HR-57, 1610 14th Street NW. $20.

Read More “Jazz Setlist: Oct. 22-28, 2009″ »

Oct. 16
Brass bands are hot at the moment: The New Orleans second-line configurations are back, but more experimental-minded musicians are also tackling the possibilities. That formula is the latest version of the ever-changing Reggie Nicholson Concept. Nicholson, an improvisational drummer and vibraphonist who belongs to Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), has made four recordings, each a completely different approach. His latest, Surreal Feel, is credited to Nicholson’s “Brass Concept,” featuring a tuba (Joseph Daley), french horn (Vincent Chancey), trombone (Curtis Fowlkes), and trumpet (Eddie Allen). This lineup plays at 8:00 pm at Contradiction Dance in Takoma Park. $15.

Read More “Jazz Setlist: Oct. 15-21, 2009″ »

Washington bassist Ben Williams took first place last night in the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition at the Kennedy Center. His victory was a given after his incredible performance; your humble correspondent went looking to make book on Williams at intermission, and nobody would take the bet. But the D.C. audience put a load of extra enthusiasm into its standing ovation—in fact the ovation started with the second-place announcement.

Williams, who grew up in Michigan Park, graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and has played with D.C. jazz stalwarts including Allyn Johnson, Nasar Abadey, and Thad Wilson, was awarded a record deal with Concord Music Group and a $20,000 scholarship. Williams has already completed his master’s degree at Juilliard, “But ohh, don’t worry,” he says. “I got plenty of bills from school that these will go toward nicely.” (Second place winner Joe Sanders received $10,000, with $5,000 for third-place Matt Brewer.)
Read More “D.C. Native Wins 2009 Thelonious Monk Competition” »

Oct. 9
SaltmanKnowles has a single ambition: Melody. Bassist Mark Saltman and pianist William Knowles, both Howard music graduates and veterans of the D.C. scene, started the quintet specifically to combat the riffs and noodling they kept hearing; they want music that’s about lyrical tunes and memorable hooks. Their lush compositions make great ammunition for that cause, but the weapon that fires them is vocalist Lori Williams-Chisholm, distinguished by her clear voice, precise articulation, and the joy that’s evident in every note she sings. SaltmanKnowles plays Friday and Saturday nights at HR-57, 1610 14th St NW, $12.

Oct. 10
Forward-thinking bassist Dave Holland leads arguably the hippest quintet in progressive jazz, with unconventional approaches to form, harmony, and interplay between the musicians. Chalk it up to Holland’s uncanny ability to spot and coordinate talents–certainly it lends promise to any other combo he happens to be a part of. Take the Overtone Quartet: It includes Holland and saxophonist Chris Potter, two fifths of the Holland Quintet, but places them onstage with two jazz adventurers, pianist Jason Moran and drummer Eric Harland. The quartet played their first-ever gig in September, meaning their work here is sure to be fresh and exciting. The Overtone Quartet plays Saturday night at the Kennedy Center, $35.
Read More “Jazz Setlist: Oct. 8-14, 2009″ »

Twenty-five-year-old Chinese-Australian bassist Linda Oh knows more about tension and release on her instrument than do many bassists twice her age. It helps, of course, that on Entry (her leadership debut), Oh works with two of the most disciplined and creative young musicians in New York: drummer Obed Calvaire, whose flexibility belies his tautness, and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, an economist extraordinaire with the most moving tone imaginable. But Entry also works on the strength of Oh’s compositions, such as “Numero Uno”—which starts with a sprawling fanfare from Akinmusire before Calvaire and Oh assume command with a steely, take-no-prisoners aggression, channeling the trumpet melody into dark suspense. The trio even makes short, defiant work of the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ “Soul to Squeeze.” Entry thus shows major promise for three musicians—but the valiant newcomer Oh most of all.

Roy Hargrove is no stranger to D.C., making frequent appearances at Georgetown’s Blues Alley and playing a headline engagement during 2007’s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival (now the D.C. Jazz Festival). Sunday night, however, he took a surprise detour from his four-night stand at Blues Alley to hit the clubs of U Street.

Tenor saxophonist Elijah Jamal Balbed reports that he was at U-Topia Bar & Grill at about 1 a.m., listening to the regular Sunday night band co-led by keyboardist Wayne Wilentz and drummer Jim West, when “next thing I know a man wearing a leather suit with black and orange Nike shoes is walking up to the stage to sit in with a flugelhorn. That was Roy Hargrove.” Over the next few hours, Hargrove’s impromptu sit-in became an open jam session featuring Jamal, singer Cheryl Jones, and local trumpet mainstays Donvonte McCoy, Joe Brotherton, and Israel Lattimore.

See what you miss when you decide you’ve “got to get up for work in the morning?”

Read More “Roy Hargrove Takes U Street by Surprise!” »

Oct. 1
1905 Restaurant sometimes gets labeled a speakeasy for its obscure location (the dimly lit second floor of a barely marked rowhouse at 1905 9th Street NW) and its absinthe-featuring drink menu. Like the classic speakeasies, it also regularly features some of the most interesting jazz on the local scene. The Cricket Fusion Quartet, led by trumpeter Joe Brotherton — with saxophonist Elijah Balbed, bassist Olvier Albertini, and drummer Jeff Franca — plays collectively improvised jazz on Thursday nights at 10 pm. It’s as moody as the eatery’s atmosphere and often quite melodic…but it may spontaneously thrust into directions nervy and unexpected.
Read More “Jazz Setlist: Oct. 1-7, 2009″ »