DEJF: Thursday Night Picks

With over 100 performances happening throughout the District from now until Tuesday, picking the best of each day isn’t easy. Still, here are two good bets for tonight:

Yardena has a hard time categorizing even herself: the vocalist was born in Israel and has performed the music of her homeland, but also mixes in Spanish folk songs, Middle Eastern music, Afro-Cuban jazz, and the American torch songbook. Her next album, she promises, will be “the fusion of Jewish, Middle Eastern music combined with Afro-Cuban rhythms as well as flamenco into what can be called true ‘world music.’” All you really need to know, though, is that she’s got a warm, rich alto voice that genuinely can handle anything. See for yourself tonight at the DC Jewish Community Center, 16th & Q Streets NW, at 7:30. $25.

At Bohemian Caverns tonight, American bassist Paul Steinbeck and French tenor saxophonist Pierre Menuau show off their aptly named French-American Jazz Quintet tonight. Inspired by Steinbeck’s research of The Art Ensemble of Chicago’s popularity in France, the Quintet has a similarly eccentric and diverse musical approach “ranging from free jazz to hip-hop, full of percussion and improvisations.” There are sets at 9:00 and 11:00, for a $15 cover.