Thursday, August 18

Until I say that the ensemble plays New Orleans jazz, you may not grasp the proper pronunciation of Yamomanem. Indeed, the group proudly touts its foundation in "D.C.'s secondline scene" (which so far consists of...Yamomanem). If the group first smacks of more middle-aged white guys playing cornball renditions of 1920s black music, then boy, you're in for a surprise. Sure, they play your Jelly Roll Mortons, your King Olivers, your New Orleans Kings of Rhythm, and they play it with the stomping foursquare rhythms of early jazz. Sort of. Because they also aren't shy with booming, 21st-century funk beats, or with the more lilting (but no less aggressive) rhythms of the Caribbean. In the past I've said that these elements "gleefully subvert" New Orleans jazz. But that, perhaps, is unfair: The aforementioned New Orleans musicians were happy to use elements of whatever they could find useful in their music, and that included Caribbean accents and ragtime (surely the contemporary equivalent of funk). But why bother with that discussion? It's fun, it sounds great, so go see 'em! Yamomanem performs at 10 p.m. at Haydee's, 3102 Mount Pleasant St. NW. Free.

Friday, August 19

Boy, oh boy, is Donvonte McCoy something. His is a dark, slightly foreboding trumpet sound, full and hearty though it is; but we tend to associate brighter, gleeful tones with the kind of fearsome chops McCoy also puts on display. But there's plenty of range and versatility in there too. He's got great and flexible time, fluid motion, and an affection for soulful textures. McCoy swings and bops with the best of them, but he puts those soul touches into his quintet, along with doses of funk and hip-hop and trippy outer space. It's appropriate for the atmosphere of the Eighteenth Street Lounge, where they practice their black magic every Friday night, and it's a fantastic time that you don't need to be an ESL-style dance music-junkie to appreciate. Just grab a cocktail and a couch, and hold on tight. The Donvonte McCoy Quintet performs at 10:30 p.m. at Eighteenth Street Lounge, 1212 18th St. NW. $10.

Sunday, August 21

Brian Settles is always busy, but lately it seems he's been busier than most. The tenor sax man fronts an acclaimed and creative local trio; works frequently with his wife, the wonderful vocalist Jessica Boykin-Settles; and often travels to New York to work in progressive ensembles there. But Settles has a progressive ensemble of his own, the quintet he calls Central Union (also featuring brilliant young D.C. native Corcoran Holt on bass), who's just released an astonishing recording. Secret Handshake (Engine Studios) is exciting music, skewed and irregular compositions with sudden twists and turns that beguile even as they warp the perceptions—oh, and no shortage of free-blowing tunes, either. It's a flexing of Settles' avant-garde muscle, along with some of his most truly creative impulses, and he's celebrating it with a release party that brings Central Union to D.C. for the first time. The ensemble performs at 7 p.m. at Bohemian Caverns, 2001 Eleventh St. NW. $15.

Tuesday, August 23
Once upon a time, Butch Warren was the house player for Blue Note Records and a member of Thelonious Monk's band. Today he is practically exile in his hometown (D.C.) after a difficult life and career. Nonetheless, he remains one of the most respected living bassists in jazz. He's the reigning king of the aggressively zesty D.C. bass sound. All reasons that if you haven't seen him play, well, you simply have no excuse. Warren's steadiest gig these days is on Tuesday nights at Tryst in Adams Morgan, where he leads a trio called the Butch Warren Experience (which often expands to include any number of musicians) and maintains a link to the deepest, headiest days of the bebop revolution, plus a booster of blues and that uniquely Washington sound. How often do you get to see living jazz royalty—and with no cover at that? Butch Warren performs at 7 p.m. at Tryst, 2459 18th St. NW. Free.

Saturday, Feb. 12
No relation to Freddie, drummer/vibraphonist Chuck Redd earned his D.C. jazz credentials 30 years ago when he joined the trio led by legendary guitarist Charlie Byrd. Redd kept performing with Byrd until his 1999 death; he also established quite a reputation for himself working with clarinetist Ken Peplowski, guitarist Barney Kessel, vocalists Susannah McCorkle and Mel Torme, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masters Orchestra—not to mention his piano-playing brother Redd. Those gigs have taken him to New York and elsewhere, all over the world in fact, but DC remains his home and the site of the bulk of his work. (For one thing, he's on the faculty at The University of Maryland School of Music). This weekend, however, marks the first time he's ever performed at the BlackRock Center for the Arts. He performs at 8 p.m. at BlackRock, 12901 Town Commons Drive in Germantown. $25-30.

Sunday, Feb. 13
The small "D.C. Jazz Loft" presentation in December turned out to be a huge success. A steady crowd of jazz fans and curious listeners flowed in and out of the five-act concert presented by CapitalBop, the D.C. jazz website run by local advocate Giovanni Russonello and musician Luke Stewart. It worked so well, in fact, that they're doing it again. This time it's under the moniker "D.C. Jazz Loft – Bebop Edition," a more focused approach than the sprawling, multicolored showcase from December. "The music isn’t strictly bebop," Russonello clarifies, "but most all of it will be swingin’ its butt off." There will be four acts at this one: Charles Rahmat Woods' D.C. Love Orchestra, bands led by the aforementioned Brad Linde and Brian Settles, and an encore performance by the U Street All-Stars that will feature an open jam session to conclude the show. If it's anything like the first, it's unmissable. The D.C. Jazz Loft begins at 7 p.m. at the Red Door, 443 I St. NW. $5 (suggested donation).

Tuesday, Feb. 15
Trumpeter Joe Herrera listens to everything. He plays everything: soul, funk, R&B, rock, Latin, and jazz, among others. He's worked with everyone in town, everyone who comes through town, and has ventured around the country to play. And God bless him, he keeps coming back, looking for more. He's even put together a double-trumpet sextet, not a terribly frequent instrumentation around these parts. Herrera pairs his tart tone with the clear, golden sound of Alex Norris' horn, in what will surely feature a fierce duel or two. Or five. Joining them will be the 21-but-already-great Elijah Balbed on tenor sax, tremendous bassist Reagan Brough, adrenalin-packed drummer Dave McDonald, and newcomer pianist Tim Whalen they perform at 8 and 10 p.m. at Twins Jazz, 1344 U St. NW. $10.

Thursday, Jan. 13
You might know Amy K. Bormet from her weekly role as pianist and backbone of the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra (and perhaps you saw her thoughtful interview on this WTTG tribute to the late Dr. Billy Taylor). But she's got other tricks up her sleeve. Her 2011 resolution, she recently stated, is "MORE ACCORDION," and Aqui Oh offers her a chance to get started on that. Aqui Oh is a Brazilian jazz ensemble, the core of which is Bormet and her husband, guitarist Matt Dievendorf—the former also sings, and the latter plays the miniature Portuguese cavaquinho. Joined by bassist Karine Chapdelaine and percussionists Marc Levine and Chuck Navyac, they perform the Brazilian jazz repertoire as well as their own compositions in the same milieu (which they've studied well—Bormet and Dievendorf's honeymoon last year was in Bahia). This is the good stuff. Aqui Oh performs at 8 and 10 p.m. at Twins Jazz, 1344 U St. NW. $10.

Saturday, Jan. 15
Boston isn't on anyone's list of jazz meccas these days. But it is an academic mecca, and with Berklee and the New England Conservatory among the many institutions, it's one of the great centers for music training and scholarship. One of its most renowned trainers/scholars is Northeastern University's Leonard Brown, who studies the music of the African diaspora. He has a particularly deep knowledge of John Coltrane and the strain of "spiritual jazz" that he inspired with his later musical explorations; in fact, Brown's newest book is John Coltrane and Black America’s Quest for Freedom, Spirituality, and the Music (Oxford University Press), which he'll be talking about and signing at Bohemian Caverns at 2:30 Saturday afternoon. By night, however, Brown expresses his intellect about spiritual jazz in another way: He's also an extraordinary tenor and soprano saxophonist, who leads a band appropriately called Joyful Noise featuring a coterie of great D.C. jazz musicians (and fellow spiritual-jazz enthusiasts): pianist Bob Butta, bassist James King, and drummer Nasar Abadey. Interestingly for such an accomplished academic, Brown's and Joyful Noise's musical trajectory is aimed at something that all involved would tell you is beyond intellectual understanding. But there's a distinct historical context to this weekend's performance: It's a celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday, combining Coltrane's spiritual jazz with actual African-American spirituals (not the same thing, mind you). It happens at 8:30 and 10:30 at Bohemian Caverns, 2001 11th St. NW. $22.

Tuesday, January 18

Though he lost his most visible gig at Columbia Station last fall, bass legend Butch Warren has kept fairly busy. He still works weekly in Adams Morgan, leading his band the Butch Warren Experience every Tuesday night at Tryst. He performed at Blues Alley in October with the Brad Linde Ensemble. He also made a recent (and as yet unreleased) recording of some of his own original compositions. This week, however, offers a chance to see Warren perform at a D.C. establishment that's not quite a jazz venue, but edging ever closer to one. The Black Fox Lounge, a sleek bar in Dupont Circle, offers nightly live music of all kinds, but jazz artists are slowly but surely coming to dominate the schedule. One of the regulars is the impressive guitarists Matt Ingeneri, who often duets with bassist Bill "Magic" Lavender Bey; this week, though, Warren will be filling Bey's spot. They perform at 7 p.m. at the Black Fox Lounge, 1723 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free.

We've already talked about the year's biggest story, the ascent of Bohemian Caverns to the top of the heap in D.C. jazz. But here are the other big happenings of 2010:

1. Sarah Hughes, a talented young saxophonist and hardworking District supporting player, made a promising debut as a bandleader at Utopia on Jan. 7.
2. The East Coast Jazz Festival was reborn as the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in February, putting local stalwarts and promising students on the bill with great national acts.
3. Local dynamo Nasar Abadey and his Supernova ensemble was selected to represent the United States as part of the State Department's "Rhythm Road" cultural exchange program.
4. Alto saxophonist John Kocur, pianist Amy Bormet, and drummer Nate Jolley were recipients in March of the Kennedy Center's prestigious Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency.
5. A new Sunday night jam session began at Dahlak Eritrean restaurant on U Street in April.
6. The Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra became the city's only house big band when it organized and premiered at the Caverns in April.
7. A slew of outstanding new recordings by Bobby Muncy, Kevin Pace, Saltman Knowles, Nasar Abadey, and the Jolley Brothers.
8. The D.C. Jazz Festival changed its name, refreshed its one-world jazz perspective, and found perhaps its surest footing in its six-year existence.
9. D.C. jazz had its own "Revolution Summer", with a full plate of festivals and national acts colliding with seven nights a week of local jazz in the U Street/Adams Morgan corridor.
10. Saxophonist Elijah Balbed established himself once and for all as one of the major forces at work on the local jazz scene (and its best new musician).
11. CapitalBop, a comprehensive new website advocating jazz in the District run by local jazz lovers Giovanni Russonello and Luke Stewart, launched in July.
12. Butch Warren, the District's most significant (and significantly troubled) jazz ambassador, was fired from his longtime gig at Columbia Station.
13. Longtime U Street jazz venue Cafe Nema, one of the key locales in the District's recent jazz renaissance, closed its doors in October.
14. Among many great national acts performing in DC (including a live recording made here in November), free-jazz great Cecil Taylor performed a rare and extremely well-attended—not to mention brilliant—concert at the French embassy on Nov. 10.
15. The aforementioned jazz advocates at CapitalBop became jazz impresarios when they presented the DC Jazz Loft, one of the best and most important showcases for local jazz musicians in recent memory.
16. HR-57 Center for the Preservation of Jazz and Blues left its 15-year outpost on 14th Street NW for the greener, hipper pastures of H Street NE.

Not bad for a year's work, huh?

Friday, Oct. 8
Nasar Abadey is home! Just under a year ago, the imaginative virtuoso drummer (who calls his music "Multi-D") was accepted for a State Department cultural tour that took him and his Supernova quartet (saxophonist Joe Ford, pianist Allyn Johnson, and bassist James King) to Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Mozambique for a series of concerts and master classes. But now Abadey and Supernova have returned to D.C., and with them their profoundly spiritual, post-Coltrane jazz, to be put on display at a spectacular performance at Montpelier in Laurel— the proverbial "triumphant homecoming." They've also got a surprise in tow: Abadey's recording of his "Diamond in the Rough" suite, which had its world premiere at last year's DC Jazz Festival, which will be available at Supernova's homecoming concert at Montpelier Arts Center, 9650 Muirkirk Road in Laurel. $20.

Saturday, Oct. 9
OK—he's "The Other Eubanks Brother." You know guitarist Kevin, late of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, if for some reason you watch The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. You may also know trombonist Robin, right-hand man of Dave Holland and a fierce innovator in his own right. Duane Eubanks is their trumpet-playing youngest brother (actually, one of a set of twins, along with trombonist Shane). The least famous and least recognized of the three, he is nonetheless equally deserving...and different. Though they both have clean and precise tone, Kevin and (especially) Robin are first and foremost interested in rhythm and groove; Eubanks' concept is more melodic, navigating the changes with acrobatic phrases that are easily as clean and articulate as anyone else. It's a gorgeous, adventurous, intoxicating sound. And you can hear it this weekend when he leads a band at Bohemian Caverns, 2001 Eleventh Street NW. $22.

Tuesday, Oct. 12
With all the talk of Butch Warren's surprising departure from his longtime association with Columbia Station, it bears repeating that he still has a steady gig. Warren, 71, is among the last of the final generation of bebop players; the accolades he receives come from his decades as one of the most splendid bop bass players in the world. For all his many troubles and onstage antics over the years, if you catch him on one of his good nights he will emit at least one solo that will, guaranteed, knock your socks off. Ask around, and you'll hear the same awestruck description over and over again: "He makes it look so easy." That's why Warren has long been, and today remains, the most venerated living jazz musician in the District of Columbia—and why, if you haven't already, you should hoof it down to see him at the beloved hipster coffeehouse/bar/hangout Tryst, 2459 18th Street NW. Free.

Mehari Weldemariam

Still, it does seem odd that Columbia Station's stated desire for new blood was such that they fired the Butch Warren Experience without having a replacement locked in for their Wednesday and Saturday nights. Saxophonist Brad Linde indicates that last Saturday, he was approached to play that evening as the club was "looking for a band for the night."

Linde declined. Instead, he has booked his nonet, the Brad Linde Ensemble, at Blues Alley for the night of Tuesday, Oct. 19—with Warren in tow. Linde says the gig is "to help Butch out and to give him more visibility....We're playing my arrangements of Butch's tunes." (Warren has about nine compositions to work with, some from his time at Blue Note and some new.) There's even the promise of coverage by NBC. Warren, it seems, has friends in high places.

"It's one of those unfortunate parts of the business that sometimes clubs make changes," Edelman says. "I think there may also have been some issues with the band, or with members of the band."

Columbia Station's staff could not be reached for comment. However, a source familiar with goings-on at the club says the 71-year-old bassist's unreliability and unpredictable behavior—which are as legendary as his talent—had become too much to handle. D.C. native Warren has long suffered from psychological trauma, his career interrupted by homelessness and extended stays in St. Elizabeth's and Springfield Hospital Center to be treated for drug addiction, alcoholism, and schizophrenia. His 2007 hiring at Columbia Station was feted by the Post's Marc Fisher, among others, as a hero's homecoming.

Notoriously, the caliber of Warren's performances at Columbia Station varied wildly; on some nights, his playing far dwarfed that of his band, while on others he seemed lost and no match for the other musicians. The source points out that some nights Warren did not show up at all, and that when he did he would often play only a few songs and leave the bass in the hands of a protege, while he hung back drinking his trademark half-and-half. City Paper's Jule Banville reported seeing him in Dupont Circle a couple years back, handing out flyers for his Columbia Station gig. "He was wearing a bike helmet, although he was not on a bike," Banville said. "He looked a touch touched."

Nonetheless, it bears mentioning that the jazz world regarded Warren as something close to royalty. At the Kennedy Center finale of last year's Thelonious Monk Competition (at which bass was the featured instrument), he was in attendance and was lauded from the stage by Christian McBride, who exhorted Warren to stand and take bows to a house ovation.

Warren's lost his most frequent and high-profile gig, but he's by no means gone from the scene. The Experience still has a standing Tuesday night gig at Tryst, just up 18th Street from Columbia Station. And, says Edelman: "We're actively hunting for jobs right now."

March 26
He 's managed to be both unsung and a legend. But Freddie Redd is one of the heroes of the hard-bop sound that's dominated mainstream jazz for half a century. He played on Lou Donaldson and Tina Brooks records (along with his own classic sessions, such as Shades of Redd) when they were still jukebox favorites, and continued to busily define and refine the music for decades. Now in his 80s, Redd hasn't recorded a note since 1990, but works steadily and brilliantly. That includes a two-night stand of 9 and 11 p.m. sets at Twins Jazz, 1344 U St. NW, where he'll be working with an energetic quartet featuring local musicians: saxophonist Brad Linde, bassist Tom Baldwin, and drummer Tony Martucci—and playing selections from his score to the 1961 film The Connection. $15.

March 27
It's absurd that Setlist has made it this far without ever mentioning Butch Warren. Once the house bassist for Blue Note Records, Warren is an extraordinary icon and bass virtuoso for the ages, and he's right here in the District playing three nights a week at Adams Morgan's Columbia Station. That said, Warren has a history of psychological battles, and they've taken their toll; some patrons of his straight-up bebop band the Butch Warren Experience sometimes report that Warren is far superior to his bandmates, while others say that he's clearly in over his head with the other musicians. The real answer is that it all depends on the night you're there—but any night is worth the risk. The Butch Warren Experience performs at 8:30 p.m. at Columbia Station, 2325 18th St. NW. Free.

March 31
Conventional wisdom is that jazz fusion died a quick death in the '70s, but it's still alive thanks to people like Mike Stern. Stern, who made his name as the guitarist for Miles Davis' postretirement 1980s band, is a six-string innovator whose delay-drenched sound is instantly recognizable in any context, but his milieu has remained the extension of fusion ideas into the contemporary musical universe. His new album, Big Neighborhood, joins him with some of the freshest-sounding musicians working today, including Esperanza Spalding and Cindy Blackman, along with fusion stalwarts Randy Brecker and Medeski Martin & Wood. Similarly, he's touring with a spectacular quartet of in-demand musicians: saxophonist Bob Malach, bassist Tom Kenendy, and drummer Dave Weckl. They perform at 8 and 10 p.m. at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $35.

Local bass player Butch Warren is not just a tenured townie and a pickup musician, he's one of the most celebrated bass players in the history of jazz.

Born in the District, Warren starting gigging around town in his teens, playing local establishments like the Howard Theater and Bohemian Caverns. When he moved to New York at 19, his career took off. In a lengthy 2006 feature, the Post's Marc Fisher wrote:

"His steady, unobtrusive rhythm and classy, unshowy solos made him the perfect studio musician. His playing had just enough of the blues and just enough bop adventure to make him enticing to leading musicians."

Warren became the Blue Note Records house bassist, recording and performing with some of jazz's biggest names: Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Clark, to name a few.

Not long ago, Warren was living at Springfield Hospital in Sykesville, Md., where he was treated for drug addition and mental illness. Today, at 69, Warren is back on the club circuit. He's been playing under the Butch Warren Experience at Columbia Station in Adams Morgan for over a year, and he frequents other 18th Street clubs, including Tryst. The next time you see Butch Warren play, he'll be driving his bass lines on a new bass, thanks to a handful of really nice people, Marc Fisher reports.

"In gratitude for Warren's transformative art, his fans and friends have raised the money to deliver him a performance-quality bass, and they deserve to start off my annual list of thank-yous ... "

Giving back to a D.C. jazz musician who became a signature part of some of the most breakthrough recordings in jazz music is both a celebration of Warren's incredible prowess and the city that raised him.