Mary Lou Williams cut an enormous figure in jazz history. From 1924, when she began playing piano in public (at the age of 14) to her Carnegie Hall duet with avant-garde titan Cecil Taylor in 1977, Williams was involved in every development in the music. She was a pioneering broadcaster, one of jazz’s most sought-after composers and arrangers, and finished her career as a musical educator at Duke University.

But Williams’ name is not well known outside of the jazz aficionados, in large part because jazz isn’t popularly associated with women.

How better to combat that than with the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival, which the Kennedy Center has held every May since 1996? Tellingly, its founder — jazz director Dr. Billy Taylor — had a tough time getting it started, telling City Paper earlier this year that “when I told them I wanted to do a women’s jazz festival, they didn’t believe I’d find enough women to justify a big feature. I was able to immediately give them a list of 100 women.”

Since then, however, it’s become a major event in the institution’s calendar, a regular showcase for innovators and virtuosi like bandleader Maria Schneider, clarinetist Anat Cohen, and young bassist Esperanza Spaulding, all of whom are on this year’s schedule.

That schedule, by the way, starts tonight, and continues to Saturday. It’ll be recapped here by yours truly.

On March 19th while many local music fans were in Austin at South by Southwest, or were wishing they were there at that mostly rock-centric gathering, others were getting ready to happily attend DC’s 2nd annual Forward Festival, a techno/electronic dance music and more event.  I recently e-mailed one of the event’s organizers, David Fogel of 88.   In addition to the festival, 88 has been bringing djs to the Muse Lounge, 717 6th St. NW, on Thursdays and to Loda at the Gallery, 1115 East-West Highway, in Silver Spring on Fridays.

 1.When did 88 start?  Who did you found it with?
+++ Myself and Albert Sohn officially started 88 in 2005.

 
2. Did you founders grow up in this area, or come here more recently or something else?
+++ Albert and I both grew up in the DC Met, and love this place.

3. Were you pleased with the way the 2nd Forward Fest worked out?
 
+++ Most definitely. That isn’t to say that there aren’t aspects to improve upon and ideas that we had that we’re looking forward to implementing next year. However, the fact that we brought artists from 3 different countries, the west-coast, east-coast and the mid-west to perform with some of our local favorites was great. Forward was another step in helping put DC on the electronic music and digital creatives map. We received nothing but positive feedback from the artists we worked with and most important, the people that came out. 
Read More “Q & A: 88’s David Fogel on their Techno/Electronic Dance Events” »

A number of Kennedy Center “Arabesque” music events sold out in advance including this weekend’s show with wonderful Lebanese oud player Marcel Khalife, and another likely good one with Simon Shaheen, a 15-piece orchestra and guest vocalists in a program entitled “Aswat-Celebrating the Golden Age of Arab Music -1920’s to 1950’s.” However, there are a handful of gigs left that are free or with tickets available (and maybe you can score tickets for the sold-out shows somewhere). Do not think that because these performances are at an upscale bastion, that these performers are bland and offering stereotypical middlebrow, overly safe “world music.” Nope, these acts are the real thing, and many of them are challenging and innovative or at least entertaining.

Sunday evening March 8 begins with Hoba Hoba Spirit. They are a Casablanca, Morocco electric guitar and drums led group who play self-described “Haiha Music,” loosely translated as “Wild Partying Music,” inspired by metal-punk, Gnawa, and Sufi sounds. They will be playing for free from 6 to 7 tonight at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

The night closes with Fathy Salama and orchestra’s “Sultany.” He is an Egyptian pianist, producer, arranger, and composer who combines traditional middle-eastern harp, tambourine, and percussion sounds with modern influences (funky programmed beats and jazzy piano). He first came on my radar when he collaborated with Youssou N’Dour on that vocalist’s daring and likeable Senegalese meets Arabeque album Egypt. Salama and company will be at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater at 7:30. This program just sold out.

On Thursday March 12, the Oriental Music Ensemble of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Palestine will be playing classical and contemporary Arab music for oud, nay, clarinet, qanun, and percussion for free from 6 to 7 at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

I will be highlighting the final March 13 to 15th weekend of Arabesque musical performances later in the week.

Iraqi vocalist Farida Mohammad Ali  said in 2005

Everyone knows that Arab society has not given women the chance to appear on stage,to be free and emancipated and thus take part in transmitting this musical heritage. But in this male-dominated society 1 was lucky enough to have tolerant, open-minded parents who created an environment for me that was favourable to my emancipation.

Farida headlined an impressive  Arabesque doublebill with fellow female artist Malouma(pictured above) at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater  Monday night.  Like Farida, Malouma, from Mauritania, received encouragement regarding music from her parents.  Female empowerment notwithstanding,  I was still expecting merely a folkloric educational evening, but the performers and their groups delivered more than that.

Read More “Malouma and Farida Last Night” »

“Arabesque,” the Kennedy Center’s massive three-week festival of Arts of the Arab World, kicks off its evening performances tonight/Monday with a bit of grrl power. “Oud Knights with Amina and Shayma: When Oud Speaks ” is a one-hour presentation of traditional playing on that lute-like instrument by two youngish women from Bahrain. They do not have a myspace site or any youtube videos that I could find, but according to the Kennedy Center, they learned under Iraqi legend Saad Mahmoud Jawad, and have been playing festivals in Europe and Asia. We will be highlighting other performers in the festival over the next few weeks. The event will include artists from 22 countries (including Palestinian performers but no one from Iran). Some upcoming musical highlights this week include Chabab Al Andalous Rabat Orchestra with Bajeddoub Mohammed and Ronda Bahae , a Moroccan ensemble that keeps alive Andalusian music using Arabic poems and traditional instruments, and onetime Rolling Stones member Brian Jones’ favorite trance music outfit from the Moroccan mountains, Bachir Attar & the Master Musicians of Jajouka.

Chabab Al Andalous Rabat Orchestra with Bajeddoub Mohammed and Ronda Bahae

Monday February 23-Oud Knights from 6 to 7 p.m. for free on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

Wednesday February 25-Chabab Al Andalous Rabat Orchestra with Bajeddoub Mohammed and Ronda from 6 to 7 p.m. for free on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

Bachir Attar & the Master Musicians of Jajouka at 8 p.m. at the Kennedy
Center Eisenhower Theater, $18 to $35.

That’s right. Coachella posted the full line up earlier today. Of all the stellar bands slated to burn up Indio, Calif., April 17-19, two of the three acts chosen to headline the festivities–I’m blogging at you, Paul McCartney and Robert Smith–haven’t made an album worth listening to since most Coachella attendees were in diapers. As for the Killers…meh.

While McCartney is likely to draw massive crowds on the 17th (Coachella tix are expensive, and baby-boomed Beatle freaks are more likely to have that cash than admirers of Greg Gillis‘ semi-illegal sonic pastiche), the 19th is full of must-see shows: sets by contemporary acts No Age, Vivian Girls, Lykke Li, Antony and the Johnsons, and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs go up against industry influencers My Bloody Valentine, X, and Public Enemy.

Oh, and it seems Shepard Fairey’s determination to ride the coattails of Obamamania has carried him all the way to the desert, as he’s also billed for the 19th. Here’s hoping for a commemorative Coachella print featuring Flavor Flav.

Experimental music enthusiasts in the DMV have cause to rally once again, as the eighth annual Sonic Circuits Festival will descend on the District for a whole week starting September 28th. Organized by the DC chapter of the American Composers Forum, the Festival highlights a smorgasbord of artists, musicians, and sound technicians from the D.C. area and around the world, providing a wide range of aural experiences; exploratory jazz, electroacoustic composition, volatile electronics, and minimal drone can all be found among the ranks. As the press release proclaims, “the perfect antidote to formula entertainment.” The schedule is now up on the Festival’s Web site, featuring over 60 acts spread across nightly performances at one of the three host venues: Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Velvet Lounge.

To help ease the event’s expenses, Festival organizers will hold a second benefit this Sunday, August 24th, at Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring, featuring performances by three area acts: Macaroon Five, Barsky/Allison, and T.A. Zook.

Macaroon Five boasts a collaboration between Arthur Harrison, Michael Engle and Kevin Buckholdt—a mix of Harrison’s custom-built theremin with Engle and Buckholdt’s intertwined electronics. Also a current member of The Cassettes, Harrison has been tinkering with homemade electronics for decades, and offers theremin kits via his company, Harrison Instruments, Inc. For visual reference, check out the video of Harrison teasing his instrument along with the Tornadoes’ “Telstar.”

Jeff Barsky and Scott Allison will perform as a duo, combining Barsky’s guitar tones with Allison’s tailor-made electronics. Both are regulars in the DC experimental scene, both through cosmic collective Kohoutek, and Barsky via his Insect Factory moniker. Arlington-based sound-manipulator T.A. Zook will round out the bill, showcasing an interesting array of homemade instruments processed through a massive electronics rig.

Those who can’t make it out to the benefit can still donate to Sonic Circuits via the Festival’s site, so don’t miss the chance to color outside the lines and support innovative, inventive music in the D.C. community and beyond.

The festival layout made it convenient when traveling from one stage to another to take a sojourn at the ‘Dance Tent’. The above set from London based Erol Alkan was so jaw-dropping head-nodding fantastic I nearly missed Gogol Bordello’s start.

The 9:30 Club deployed its elite force of security personnel en mass at the Virgin Festival. Some sets warranted the special forces of music world security from the 9:30 (Lupe Fiasco) and some had to settle for regular rent-a-cop infantry (Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings).

The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus was a pleasant palate cleanser between shows. The traveling troupe and non-profit dazzled with sword-swallowing and high-wire antics.

Upset the Setup has A Tribe Called Quest’s rider. It’s pretty fun–and pretty tame–reading.

Pop Cesspool has an interesting compare/contrast with W and other Oliver Stone trailers.

The Apes will be playing a festival in Athens, GA.

Wale’s mixtape gets a glowing review in Pitchfork.

D.C.’s sweatiest rock band, the Hall Monitors, continues its march toward garage-rock nirvana. They’ve just been invited to Toronto’s North by Northeast festival, the Great White North’s answer to South by Southwest that takes place in mid-June at some 50 downtown venues there. They join names like Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Sloan, and a whole lot of Canuck groups you’ve never heard of.

“Some of our best friends are in Canadian bands, like Barenaked Ladies and the Tea Party, and we’re thrilled to be contributing to the rich and wonderful musical heritage there,” says THM lead singer and guitarist Sean Crowley via e-mail. “But we’ll be sure to play our music very s-l-o-w-l-y and l-o-u-d-l-y so the local people can understand and enjoy it. It’ll be great to drink some real Labatt, too.”

But wait, there’s more!

“Also, [I’ve] been practicing some new jump kicks so hopefully the Canadian health care system extends to festival performers. Ginger [Richards, who also sings and plays guitar] is hoping to marry into a nice Ontario family and to smuggle the Sullivan brothers [Matt and Mike, bassist and drummer, respectively] in as her sons so that they can all take advantage of cheaper hockey tickets.”

The group’s EP Girls is out now, and you can read what Justin Moyer had to say about their Rolling Stones-channeling track “Give It Up” here. They have finished recording their first full length, tentatively titled Up To No Good, at Saxon Studios in upstate New York, and are now in the midst of a label bidding war of sorts. “We’ve been offered record deals by a Nashville based label and a New York label and are currently considering both,” is all Crowley will say.

The group plays the first day of the festival, June 12, so renew those passports stat!