Given the dizzying news cycles between this column and the last, I hope all of your heads have stopped spinning as much as possible and you can find some time to put down the phone or pry yourself away from the computer monitor and get out to see some live music. It will center you, to be sure. If you haven’t, this August provides a glut of opportunities to do so (despite the month’s reputation as a lull).

The D.C. Jazz Festival kicks off its main block of annual programming at the end of the month, anchored by their signature “Jazz at the Wharf” series, taking place August 31-September 1. For those unaware, DCJF recently switched from a mostly-free to a mostly-ticketed model for their Wharf events, so make sure to get tickets before they sell out (which they did last year). Though we will publish our usual preview later this month, be sure to look out for the many DCJF “Jazz in the Hoods”-style showcases occurring throughout the city in August, including Paul Carr with the Junto Trio uptown at Takoma Station on Aug. 29. The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage will host a great run of shows that week for the DCJF too, including bassist Eliot Seppa on Aug. 27 and the dynamic duo of siblings Ebban and Epharim Dorsey on Aug. 29 as well. 

The Kennedy Center is also hosting Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly known as Christian Scott) on Aug. 4 in what coincides with a glut of New Orleans artists bringing the Big Easy to the District this month. One of Adjuah’s fellow millennial New Orleans musicians and producers, P.J. Morton, brings his own stylistic turn on Black American Music to the Warner Theater on Aug. 6. The venerable Preservation Hall Jazz Band returns to the Filene Center at Wolf Trap – continuing the group’s long association with the venue – on Aug. 9, opening for Texas country and roots crooner Lyle Lovett and his Large Band. Then vocalist and trombonist Glen David Andrews brings more NOLA-infused funk back to the Kennedy Center Aug. 17. 

In terms of recurring gig news, one of the big notes is that bassist Andrew Musselman’s signature “Jazz on the Rocks” jam has left its three-year home of Tonic at Quigley’s in Foggy Bottom on Tuesdays to take up residence at QRTZBar, just off of U Street on 9th Street, on Wednesdays. Elijah Jamal Balbed has now taken up temporary residence at Marx Café on Mondays, blowing with a rotating cast of musicians – the length is to be determined. Also, Samuel Prather is scaling down his weekly Sunday show at H Street’s Bronze from the G.O. 4tet to a solo act for the remainder of the summer. 

As a last note, a group of young musicians and bandleaders is organizing a second edition of their “Flowers for Palestine” fundraiser at Rhizome on Aug. 26. Even if you cannot go, we hope you can give what you can. For all other needs in our jazz scene, consult the full D.C. jazz calendar. 

LAFAYETTE GILCHRIST

Saturday Aug. 10, 7:00 p.m.
Takoma Station Tavern (tickets)
[view on calendar]

Lafayette Gilchrist was born and raised here in D.C., developing his musical interests and experiences during the culturally fertile era when go-go and jazz were in full swing. With live music everywhere, Gilchrist was able to have deep early experiences with music that have influenced him to this day. Now residing in Baltimore, he is a creative force in the Mid-Atlantic region. With a string of groups and collaborations, he is constantly building his vision through the consistent and steady stream of performance and composition.

He returns to Takoma Station, something of a now regular haunt for Gilchrist in D.C., for this performance.

ANDRA DAY

Tuesday Aug. 13, 8:00 p.m.
Howard Theater (tickets)
[view on calendar]

Soul, blues and R&B singer Andra Day embodies both the old school elegance and presence of a Sarah Vaughan or Nina Simone and the modern belting and stylings of an Amy Winehouse or India.Arie. Her songs often fit into a familiar, gospel-like emphasis on overcoming adversity and struggling on towards a better future, and her delivery makes the message resonate deep. 

She portrayed Billie Holiday in a widely-praised Lee Daniels film The United States vs. Billie Holiday, sang with the Count Basie Orchestra and covered a deep cut from Kendrick Lamar’s first studio album. Her range is significant and impressive. She returns to D.C. to celebrate the release of her second album Cassandra (Cherith) – her first in nearly a decade.

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH CÉCILE McLORIN SALVANT

Thursday, Aug. 15, 8:00 p.m.
Filene Center at Wolf Trap (tickets)
[view on calendar]

For many years, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has been the premiere repertoire big band in jazz, defending a classicist vision of the music as defined by its head honcho, trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis. 

Opening for the ensemble on this date will be vocalist Cécile McLorin-Salvant, considered by many to be her generation’s preeminent vocalist. That victory was somewhat of a vindication for jazz’s classicists: Here’s a singer with verve, virtuosity and a reverence for the tradition that’s anything but deferential. McLorin-Salvant, who grew up in Florida and studied music in France, has a broad voice and a thespian’s precision. Her repertoire ranges from jazz standards to obscure gems from the vault to – increasingly – her own compositions.

NASAR ABADEY: TRIBUTE TO MAX ROACH

Friday, Aug. 23, 6:00 p.m.
Westminster Presbyterian Church ($10 admission fee, free for kids under 16)
[view on calendar]

Few musicians in D.C., a town full of great jazz players, command as much respect or presence on the bandstand as Nasar Abadey. The master drummer leads his group, Supernova, through quietly bristling spiritual jazz, but he can also be found co-leading the Washington Renaissance Orchestra with Allyn Johnson, or playing behind fellow elders like Andrew White and Steve Novosel.

He returns to D.C.’s “jazz church” to pay tribute to Max Roach in recognition of the late drummer’s centenary. Abadey will be joined by Elijah Jamal Balbed on saxophone, Eric Williams on trumpet, Minh Vo on piano and Herman Burney on bass.

SHANNON GUNN’S SAFFRON ENSEMBLE

Friday, Aug. 30, 6:00 p.m.
Kennedy Center – Millennium Stage (tickets)
[view on calendar]

Trombonist Shannon Gunn is an imaginative musician and frequent bandleader at venues across D.C. Prior to the pandemic, she held down a weekly residency at Columbia Station and Club Heaven & Hell, reworking bop classics in an organ-trio format. These days, Gunn is more often found leading larger ensembles through a wide range of repertoire, from simmering soul jazz to original arrangements of Rage Against the Machine.

Here she leads her Saffron Ensemble (which debuted at CapitalBop’s 2022 Jazz and Freedom Festival), featuring strings, woodwinds, drums, bass, trombone and synthesizer performing Gunn’s originals and arrangements, combining traditional compositions with group improvisations.

Some listings use pre-existing D.C. jazz calendar text written by Giovanni Russonello. 

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