Alas. Dutch piano prodigy Michiel Borstlap was scheduled for shows at Blues Alley tonight and tomorrow, a performance that was sure to be radiant. Now it will not be radiant or anything else, as the shows have been canceled due to poor ticket sales.
That's the bad news. The good news is that the club has [...]
Since 1995, when he began playing music again after an 18-year break, singer/guitarist/banjoist Otis Taylor has been playing blues like no one else. The Chicago-born, Denver-raised performer, who performs at Blues Alley tonight with his band, generates noisy drones and sharp, deliberate runs that he accompanies with chanted, dramatically evocative vocals and stripped-down arrangements featuring [...]
Tonight, Jan. 20
The rise of young Miguel Zenon has brought renewed attention on the jazz strands of Puerto Rico, but the Island of Enchantment has a long, long lineage in the music from Juan Tizol to Tito Puente to David Sanchez. Puente remains the king; if there's a Crown Prince of Puerto Rican jazz, however, [...]
If you read the most recent Jazz Setlist, you may have seen our go-see-him-if-you're-not-doing-something-electiony-on-Election-Day endorsement of Benny Sharoni, the Israeli-born tenor saxophonist who was playing tonight at Blues Alley. Well, now you don't have to worry about it anymore.
"I'm sorry to tell you that the great saxophonist Benny Sharoni has to reschedule his Blues Alley [...]
THEATER: In the Red and Blue Water at the Studio Theatre, still on tonight; Stick Fly at Arena Stage, still on, with an extra show added; Beauty of the Father at GALA, still on; all shows at the Kennedy Center, canceled; I Am My Own Wife at the Signature Theatre, canceled; Last Cargo Cult at [...]
For those with the belief that The Blues is nothing more than 3 bars repeated; that The Blues has done nothing for music since the city of Chicago hit its stride; or that there are no Blues like the old Blues, you owe it to yourself to see Corey Harris.
He manages to mix the best elements of classic Blues while giving nods to where it has gone in the world of jazz, and where it has come from via its African roots.
And backed by a tight group that truly belongs in a small jazz club and truly knows how to have fun with the music.
He's still in town folks. Don't let the snow stop you!
Setlist normally tries to stick with one jazz event per evening. But most evenings aren't New Year's Eve, where we'll all be out on the town and wondering what our options are. So, as a Washingtonian and a jazz nerd, it is my duty to tell you that the options are many.
Dec. 31
The District's strongest [...]
A Friday item, in which we feature a playlist suggested by one of our critics—or by a friendly guest.
Christian McBride has laid down records with so many jazz icons that to list them here would be sort of obnoxious. (It would also require us to discuss the latter-day work of Sting.) Suffice it to say [...]
Here's what's happening in the District tonight. See our full Summer Music Guide for more music events to come.
The Prodigy, Tittsworth. 9:30 Club. $35. All ages.
Edmund Burke Middle School Youth Band (early show). Georgetown Day School Youth Band (late show). Blues Alley. $15 per show. All ages.
Mixel Pixel, Ear Pwr. Galaxy Hut.
Ben Sollee, Anni Rossi. [...]
Saadiq/Legend at DAR Constitution Hall; Dr. John and the Lower 911 at Blues Alley
***
Raphael Saadiq and Dr. John are both on tour at present, peddling different brands of regressively delightful music to packed, loyal audiences. The Doctor (Mac Rebennack, to get technical) and Saadiq (né Wiggins) wear their influences on their sleeves and dress [...]
