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 managed to book two of D.C.'s finest musicians to fill the holes in its calendar. Tonight it's pianist Allyn Johnson, a master of the keys with a lightning-fast technique and a deep gospel reservoir, leading a trio with sets at 8 and 10 p.m. Tuesday, bassist Michael Bowie—arguably the best of the city's massive stockpile of bassists—performs sets at the same times at the Georgetown club.

Blues Alley is at 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Each of the four sets is $18.

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 carefully inserted supporting instruments. His singular music does not call to mind Miller Lite blooz clichés or Southern soul. On albums such as Blue-Eyed Monster, When Negroes Walked the Earth, and last year’s memorable Clovis People Volume 3, Taylor sings of personal and worldly experiences that reflect his life as someone whose great-grandfather was lynched and uncle was murdered. His songbook also is derived from his having heard country blues as a teenager at the Denver Folklore Center, being a father of two daughters, and as someone with an academic and visceral interest in history, especially American history. The song titles in Taylor’s catalog help convey his vision: “9th Cavalry Blues,” “Mama’s Selling Heroin,” “Ten Million Slaves,” “Young Girl Down the Street,” and “Sounds of Attica.”

Taylor played in bands in America and England as a teenager and 20-something, but at 29 quit and became an antiques dealer and cycling coach.  None of his music from that time is currently available.  While Taylor’s current music, referred to by some as “trance blues,” is occasionally over-repetitive and limited melodically, his finest cuts are eerie and atmospheric.  On Clovis People Volume 3, whose title refers to the earliest existing North American people who suddenly disappeared, leaving only archeological remains near Taylor’s Boulder home, the singer revisits some of his compositions from the last fifteen years, adds guest musicians on pedal steel, cello, and organ, and explains the meaning of the cuts via the CD's minimalistic liner notes. “Little Willie” is explained as “[a] young boy is shot dead on the school playground and his mother is telephoned,”  while “It’s Done Happened Again” is described simply as “[a] man is awakened by another person’s heartache.”

Otis Taylor and band perform Tuesday at 8 and 10 p.m. at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW.  $25 (plus drink and service charge) (202) 337-4141

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, it's got to be Eddie Palmieri. The pianist was actually born in New York City, but to new-immigrant parents and in a Hispanic Bronx neighborhood that ensured his immersion in his musical heritage. In fact, while Palmieri began studying jazz piano as a kid, his professional career started in Latin dance music which he later injected with jazz elements, not the other way around. That was 50 years ago, and in the time since the world of Latin jazz has transformed itself around Palmieri's innovations. He brought a new Latin rhythmic sensibility to jazz piano, and a reconfigured instrumental tableau that brought trombones, not trumpets, to the forefront. No, he may not be at Puente's guest-star-on-The-Simpsons level (and let's face it, "He robbed the school of Eddie!" just doesn't have the same ring to it), but he's an unquestionably major figure just the same. Palmieri leads a quartet with Brian Lynch at 8 and 10 p.m., part of the Heineken Latin Jazz series at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $37.75.
Photo: Tommy Rivera Jr.
Friday, Jan. 21
It was in January of 1999 that Reverend Brian Hamilton conceived the notion of transforming the sanctuary of his church, Westminster Presbyterian, into a jazz club on Friday nights "as a way to bring people together, using jazz and promoting jazz in the process." It was a simple idea: Put some of the area's finest hard-bop musicians on the dais, charge a pittance for admission, and throw in dinner from a neighborhood caterer. Fast forward a dozen years; Jazz Night in Southwest is not only one of the most stable and established gigs in the District, it's one of the most beloved. Musicians adore playing there, with an unfailingly warm and appreciative (and deeply knowledgeable) audience waiting in the pews. Listeners love listening there, and frequently hear about new D.C. talent on its stage. How could that not be worthy of a big anniversary party with local all-stars? Washington's reigning jazz granddaddy, saxophonist Buck Hill, is joined by (among others) fellow saxophonist Antonio Parker, bassist Herman Burney, and drummer Nasar Abadey. And some surprises! They hit at 6 p.m., 4th and I Streets SW. $5.

Saturday, Jan. 22
One thing we need is more vibraphone around here. We've got the ever-fantastic Chuck Redd here in town, but it's not enough! More D.C. vibes now, dammit! ...Still, if we've got to import our vibraphonists for a good performance, let's try to make it the best–which is what the movers behind the Red Door Loft are doing with Philadelphia's Khan Jamal. He's not a descendant of Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, or Walt Dickerson; he's a descendant of all of them put together. Jamal is a restless explorer on his instrument, breezing in and out of convention and even grooving on fusion some of the time (perhaps the only person outside of Frank Zappa to figure out how to make jazz-fusion on the vibes). Jamal is an extraordinarily soloist, but even better with a hot rhythm section; Tonight he'll be doing one set of each, the latter with drummer Scott Verrastro and others TBA–though chances are it'll include bassist Luke Stewart, one of the concert's organizers. They play at the Red Door Loft, 443 I St.t NW. $5 (suggested donation).

"I'm sorry to tell you that the great saxophonist Benny Sharoni has to reschedule his Blues Alley show on Tuesday, November 2nd due to illness," writes Sharoni's publicist this morning. "I'll let you know when the show is re-booked."

So there you have it. Go do something electiony.

There's no getting around it: You'd be insane to step outside in this weather. Then again, what are the arts without their eccentrics? If you do feel compelled to brave the elements, you've still got a few options—well, very few. We'll keep updating this space—and keep in mind, just because something is on now doesn't mean it still will be later in the day. E-mail us any tips or leave them in the comments.

THEATER: In the Red and Blue Water at the Studio Theatre, canceled; Beauty of the Father at GALA is off; Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center, canceled; I Am My Own Wife and Sweeney Todd at the Signature Theatre, canceled; Barack Stars at Woolly Mammoth is canceled; Orestes, a Tragic Romp at Folger Shakespeare Library, canceled; Shakespeare Theatre Co.’s Antony & Cleopatra and Henry V, canceled; suicide.chat.room at Flashpoint, "it will apparently never ever ever stop snowing so we are canceling tonight's performance"; The Rivalry at Ford’s Theatre, canceled; Noon performance of The Four of Us at Theater J, canceled; Permanent Collection at Round House Theatre, canceled.

FILM: Smithsonian events are canceled; AFI Silver is open; E Street closed for matinees, no announcement yet for evening shows.

DANCE: Mariinsky Ballet at Kennedy Center is canceled.

MUSEUMS: Smithsonian is closed; Phillips Collection is closed; Corcoran is closed.

MUSIC: La Roux at 9:30 Club, postponed; Pepi Ginsberg, Pash, and Olivia Mancini at the Black Cat, rescheduled to March 2; Delta Spirit at DC9, canceled; Dinosaur Bones at The Red and the Black, still on; Maida Vale at Velvet Lounge, still on; To Haiti with Love at Liv, still on; Everything Verses at Bohemian Caverns, still on; Framewerk at Blues Alley, still on; Dr. John at The Birchmere, canceled; the Bad Plus at Wolftrap, canceled.

Dec. 31
The District's strongest NYE jazz tradition, and its Cadillac option, remains Ahmad Jamal. The Chicago-born pianist's name is mostly known by its tie to Miles Davis—the two never played together, but the trumpet legend was outspoken in his fascination with (and copying of) Jamal's use of space in his solos. Long and unusually placed rests are still a distinction in Jamal's work, but they shouldn't overshadow his other extraordinary abilities: lyricism, strong rhythm, clever and catchy compositions, and a surprising ability to turn all of these into a furious, even confrontational performance. The combination, no doubt, has ensured his regular return to DC for weeklong year's-end engagements at Blues Alley, where he plays every set to a capacity house. Tonight's performance is a special one, featuring a dinner package and stellar locals Paul Bollenbach (guitar), Michael Bowie (bass), and Lenny Robinson (drums) accompanying Jamal. Expensive, but extraordinary. Sets at 6:30 and 10 p.m. at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Avenue NW. $110-$160.

Another piano icon performs at Twins Jazz. Larry Willis first made his name on the challenging free-leaning music of Jackie McLean in the mid '60s, but quickly extended his reach into bebop, swing, progressive, Latin, African, and even fusion and jazz-rock. Most famously, Willis worked for seven years as a member of Blood, Sweat, and Tears—a band that was once extremely popular for some reason. Still, it does count as a major accomplishment for this man who's as comfortable playing behind Dizzy Gillespie as David Clayton-Thomas, and equally adept at composing and arranging strong, challenging tunes. Willis plays with his quartet and saxophonist James Gates at 9 p.m. at Twins Jazz, 1344 U St. NW, with a package that includes dinner, champagne, and two sets of music. $75.

But if piano doesn't do it for you, there's the great guitarist John Pizzarelli at the Kennedy Center. The son of another great guitarist, Bucky Pizzarelli, John is every bit the sterling virtuoso and improvisational imagination that his father is—but with added skills as both a singer and raconteur. Appropriate, then, that he should spend the evening in tribute to another singer and talker, Frank Sinatra, in a show called—wait for it—"Dear Mr. Sinatra." Pizzarelli's voice doesn't really approximate the Chairman of the Board's in any meaningful sense, save the sense of warmth that comes through in his croon. Yet he also plays his ass off on the six-string. Pizzarelli plays at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, 2700 F St. NW. $65-85.

Yes, yes, I know. Incredibly expensive, all of them. But there are great options on the local level as well—the Young Lions play their regular set at Cafe Nema on U Street; violinist Susan Jones and her band play First Night festivities in Alexandria; the Potomac Jazz Project performs at the Kennedy Center's Rooftop Terrace restaurant; and the weekly Thursday night jam session goes on as usual at HR-57.

And, finally:

Jan. 3, 2010
Alto saxophonist John Kocur isn't called "The Smoker" for nothing. He's simply one of the finest soloists the D.C. jazz scene has to offer—and, it turns out, one of its most promising composers and bandleaders, too. Kocur's quartet with pianist Amy Bormet, bassist Oliver Albertini, and drummer C.V. Dashiell III recorded an intriguing album in 2009, and promoted it with some spectacular gigs around town. And they're starting the new year off strong, with a high-profile gig on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. Kocur and the band will play some standards as well as their original material in a set that's just in time to catch on your way to Sunday dinner. That's at the Millennium Stage, 2700 F St. NW. Free.

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 that whatever jazz greats were alive in the ’90s, McBride played with them—and made their records a better place to spend some time.

Mike West, City Paper's jazz guy-in-chief, calls McBride "the most revered bass player of his generation."

More important, perhaps, is McBride's statesmanlike work as a bandleader and composer. McBride's new band, Inside Straight, which backs him on this year's Kind of Brown, represents a return to a traddier brand of music (what the bassist describes as "right down the pike, straight-ahead, swinging jazz") after the forward-leaning funk of the Christian McBride Band. Not to say that the dude's playing it safe or anything...but if John McLaughlin wanders into Blues Alley this weekend, he's not gonna hear anything to turn his hair unwhite.

Still! A man's allowed his guilty pleasures. In anticipation of his four sets this weekend, I phoned McBride to solicit a playlist of his favorite non-jazz songs. Predictably, they're heavy on the low end. (Hey, a bassist has to look out for his own.) Also predictably, one of the songs is by Sting.

Playlist & videos below the interview.

Washington City Paper: You've said that the inspiration for Inside Straight was so that they'd let you back into the Village Vanguard. How did it turn into an album?

McBride: Well, we should clarify—it wasn't that I was banned from the Vanguard; I just hadn't played there for a long time. And I thought that was a gross oversight on my part that I hadn't. What am I doing? I'm supposed to be a jazz musician, and I haven't been back to the Vanguard? That's inexcusable! But of course, I had to put a certain band together to play the Vanguard.

And then?

Then it took about a year for us to play again, and it was determined that my next CD would be with that band. We played the Monterey Jazz Festival, and it was in that run in Monterey that we had a "name the band" contest, and we had submissions sent to my Website to name the band. Anyway, this couple sent "Inside Straight," and I thought, "That's perfect." Philosophically and everything.

And what happened to the Christian McBride band?

Well, everybody seemed to really like the quintet—even for a month after the initial vanguard arrangement, the guys in the band, the people in the jazz community...plus it was also a combination of the guys in the CMB, in the old band, getting so busy doing other projects, it became increasingly difficult to get all the guys together at the same time. Ron Blake joined the Saturday Night Live band 4 seasons ago, which pretty much eliminated his being able to work on Friday and Saturday. And what kind of band doesn't work on Friday and Saturday?

Were you tempted to sneak some dirty fusion into your first set at the Vanguard?

[Laughs] No, no, no, no, no, no. That is not the place to do that. I didn't need to do that. That's what I'd had the CMB for.

So we asked you to put together these "top 10 favorite non-jazz songs." First of all, you cheated. You tried to sneak in a second Stevie Wonder song at the end.

Oh, did I send you 11? I'm sorry!

It's cool. The other artist you doubled up on is James Brown. Is that just 'cuz you played with him, or....

He's been my childhood hero—he has been the central focus of my entire musical universe since I was 8 years old.

Wow.

I saw him perform live when I was a kid and I became obsessed with his music. Obsessed might not be a good word—I'm at, like, a historian status now. I like to think I'm part of this James Brown Experts task force. There's this guy named Alan Leeds who does a lot of essays on James Brown...anyway, I'm part of their little circle now, so James is my hero.

What happened when you were 8?

I saw him at the Academy of Music in downtown Philly. It ruined me.

So you picked "Soul Power." Have you seen the new flick? The one from Zaire 74?

Oh yeah, I saw Soul Power before it came out—I told you, I'm part of the James Brown Elite task force, so I had a chance to see one of the test runs before it hit the theaters. That is a really, really great documentary. Everybody in that movie is in peak form...from Bill Withers to Big Black and the Fania All-Stars.

On "Every Little Thing," Sting seems to be playing an upright. That why you chose it?

No, out of all the Police hits, that just seemed to be my favorite one. I just gravitate towards it. [Laughs] And when i joined Sting's band and we'd play that song, I'd have try really hard not to smile too much. It's just such a cute song.

How's Sting as a bass player? You teach him anything?

[Laughs] Ah, no—I was just there to play the parts. He's a good bass player. I mean, he certainly plays—he has a certain way that he likes his music played, and obviously nobody can do it better than him. So I was really honored that he asked me to play in his band. He would just sing. But there were a number of times...it was actually kinda cute—he was so used to singing and playing at the same time, there were moments where it was uncomfortable for him—so there were a number of times when he would put his bass on and turn the volume down. Because to only do one at a time was a struggle for him.

Public Enemy—that mainly a Philly thing, or does it go deeper?

That was my high school thing—I was class of 1989, and that was my high school's unofficial theme song. ?uestlove and I grew up together, we went to high school together—I mean, you remember, when Public Enemy came out they were huge. and ?uestlove and i just loved them. Fact, I remember seeing Flava Flav in a burger place in downtown Philly right around the time that "Fight the Power" came out. He was just crazy—that politically aware rap, that positive rap...man, this was one of the seminal songs of that era.

When's the last time you fought the power?

Oh, goodness—every day when my wife tells me what she wants me to do. My wife is the power.

Christian McBride's Friday "Non-Jazz Playlist":

1. Soul Power – James Brown

2. Got the Feeling – James Brown

3. Love TKO – Teddy Pendergrass

4. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – The Police

5. Fight the Power – Public Enemy

6. If You Think You're Lonely Now, Wait Until Tonight – Bobby Womack

7. Lady in My Life – Michael Jackson

8. Ball of Confusion – Temptations

9. Fantasy – EWF

10. Summer Soft – Stevie Wonder

11. Superwoman – Stevie Wonder

Christian McBride and Inside Straight perform at Blues Alley at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., tomorrow and on Sunday.

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. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15. +21.
• Sparks the Rescue, Running With Giants, Sing Me Insomnia, Cowabunga, Hello Conductor. Jammin’ Java. $10. All ages.
• Juilliard School: LK String Quartet. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Free. All ages.
• One Nite Stand (every Monday). Madam’s Organ. Call for price. +21.
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Verizon Center. SOLD OUT.
• XMC (ex-Holy Rollers, Negative Approach, Meatmen), Pup Tent. Black Cat Backstage. $8. All ages.

Photo of The Prodigy by Nivag, via MySpace.

***

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 in full-on vintage: Rebennack in voodoo regalia, Saadiq in a chickadee-yellow suit and oversize horn-rims.

The distinction, of course, is that Saadiq's throwback pose is provisional; the Doctor's is dynastic.

Headliner John Legend has been filling houses for Saadiq during the pair's national tour that closed two days ago. That's fine, if it means more people listening to Saadiq—but mainly it means sitting through most of Evolver after the livelier performer (with the better band) has already left the stage. Legend struts and takes his cheese seriously; Saadiq dances and seems to acknowledge that the salvation/procreation dyad of contemporary R&B is about as synthetic as a modern soulman who channels Curtis Mayfield.

Dr. John dances too, in a sense—if that's what you call the frenzied Dixie wobblings that ensued whenever the sexua-(nearly septua-)genarian stood up for a break from the ivories. "Pull ya pants up...ooh, that's just unnecessary," drummer Herman Ernest III chided as Dr. John demonstrated an unusual two-step for the audience. "I know: it's hard with the prosthetics." These moments were special, but also left the band lacking the dirty-ass center of its sound—Dr. John's swampy piano, without which the group regressed into a generic species of funk. The high point of the set was the funereal, "Ballad of a Thin Man"-type take on "When the Saints Go Marchin' In"—as fine a eulogy for the Doctor's Katrina-ravaged home as anything on City That Care Forgot, the critically admired disc behind which the Lower 911 is touring.

Saadiq's recent Katrina tribute—"Big Easy," which gets a nice treatment from the Rebirth Brass Band on the album—shined on Tuesday night, courtesy of some beautiful, warbly trumpet. But Saadiq reserves his grooviest arrangements for a more playful subcategory of the fuck anthem than anything in the Legend songbook—such that when he tells a girl that he "want[s] some sex" and proposes a walk outside, it's not background music, nor some cosmic event: it just is what it is.

...and what it is has a hell of a lot more to do with Dr. John singing "Makin' Whoopee" than with Legend on "Take Me Away."

Photograph by Brian Reed

Photograph by Brian Reed