Last year's Jazzies were created on a whim, searching for a way to sum up the year in D.C. jazz; to our surprise, it went viral within the local community, giving Washington City Paper little choice but to turn the cute one-off into an annual tradition. Thus, without further ado, here are the winners of [...]
Thursday, Nov. 1
Singer Roberta Gambarini is a frequent presence around these parts, a regular part of the D.C. Jazz Festival's lineup and an annual performer at Blues Alley, where she returns this weekend. She is always welcome. A native of Torino, Italy, the lovely Gambarini speaks with an Italian accent, but when she sings there's [...]
Friday, Oct. 26
When the late Dr. Billy Taylor was the Kennedy Center's Artistic Adviser for Jazz, you'd see him cross the institution's stages occasionally—primarily as a guest in other artists' sets, and increasingly less as he got older. The new artistic adviser, Jason Moran, is considerably younger and more energetic (his fresh perspective helped him land [...]
Yes, folks, August will soon be upon us, and it's traditionally the slowest month for jazz in D.C. (Hell, it's the slowest month for D.C., period.) But July, in its final week, seems determined to give us the goods.
Thursday, July 26
I've already heard this four-night trio gig at Blues Alley credited to drummer Jimmy Cobb; [...]
Saturday, June 30
There are supergroups, and then there's Spectrum Road. But it feels like an undersell to refer to this quartet as a supergroup—how about megagroup? In the context of fusion, it's just about the only term that works: guitarist Vernon Reid (Living Colour), bassist Jack Bruce (Cream), pianist-organist John Medeski (John Scofield, Medeski Martin [...]
Saturday was the day of CapitalBop's 11-hour MegaFest at 629 New York Ave. NW. Unable to attend the full event, I instead stopped in every couple of hours to get a sense of it and enjoy the goings-on. Here are my impressions of each visit.
3:49 p.m. The setup here is pretty neat. It's a huge [...]
You've already met Alex Brown, our festival pick for this evening (midnight at Cashion's Eat Place, 1819 Columbia Road NW, Free). But there are even more big things happening over the weekend—especially tomorrow.
SATURDAY
There's always a rickety, homemade vibe to DIY projects and events—to some extent, that's the point. But it doesn't mean DIY can't be [...]
Thursday, Feb. 9
The resurgence of the New Orleans brass band in the late 2000s was just about the unlikeliest musical development of its time. In some ways, it was a product of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, a living proof of the steadfastness of the people of the Crescent City who endured such horror, natural and manmade. [...]
Already boasting an impressive resume on the D.C. jazz scene, tenor saxophonist Elijah Balbed added another major entry in June: artist in residence at Bohemian Caverns. The fourth such artist since club owner/manager Omrao Brown began the residency program last November, Balbed's monthlong tenure was truncated—and overshadowed—by the presence of the DC Jazz Festival [...]
Friday, Sept. 10
"Brûlée has never called itself a jazz group," the quartet says in its mailings, "But the strong jazz influences in our music are unmistakable." No kidding. Two of the four members, bassist Andrew Brown and drummer Lex O'Brien have both worked as professional jazz musicians (especially O'Brien, a startlingly accomplished drummer and composer [...]
