Summer is officially over, according to the calendar and the drop in sweat-inducing weather. But the season for outdoor concerts continues through this month, as in the case of the DC Jazz Festival’s presentation of free concerts at National Landing’s Metropolitan Park on Thursdays (one of which is highlighted in detail below). And with the arrival of autumn comes the formal start of artistic seasons at spaces like the Kennedy Center, whose 2024-25 jazz season kicks off this month in grand style.
In terms of local gigs, Sycamore and Oak will continue its presentation of top-notch local acts this month, with Brent Birckhead playing with his namesake group this Sunday, Oct. 6. No Trick Pony follows up their successful night at the Kennedy Center from last month with a performance in the backyard of the Material Things ceramics studio in North Brentwood on Oct. 13 (disclosure: Abe Mamet, CapitalBop’s assistant editor, curates the series). The Blackbyrds also bring their 50th anniversary celebrations to a close this month, with the final show of their worldwide tour taking place at the Bethesda Theater on Oct. 26.
Some regular weekly gigs and jams return this month too (or have returned since my last newsletter). Drummer Jo Palmer’s jam at Whitlow’s, presented through The Sonic Lifeline, is back on Tuesdays. Elijah Jamal Balbed has two regular gigs back on the calendar as well: He’s playing once a month, on Tuesday nights, at Ciel Social Club in Mt. Vernon Triangle and once again leads the UMD jazz jam the last Wednesday of every month, now at the Hyattsville Busboys and Poets.
For other local jazz show needs, consult the full D.C. jazz calendar.
WEIRD OF MOUTH
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m.
Tonal Park Recording Studio (tickets)
[view on calendar]
Weird of Mouth is the new transnational all-star creative music trio helmed by saxophonist Mette Rasmussen and featuring Craig Taborn on piano and Ches Smith on drums. The group’s music draws on the expertise of all three: Smith’s command of rhythm and texture, Taborn’s fearless exploration of the melodic and percussive possibilities of the ivories and Rasmussen’s clear, decisive tone steering the medley.
The group is on its first tour ahead of the release of its self-titled debut album, due out Friday.
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO: ‘NO MORE WATER: THE GOSPEL OF JAMES BALDWIN’
Saturday, Oct. 5, 8 p.m.
Silver Spring Veterans Plaza (tickets)
[view on calendar]
No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, is the 14th album from the vocalist, bassist and composer Meshell Ndegeocello. It amounts to a good summation of the work she’s done over a 30-plus-year career — blending deep atmosphere, quietly brilliant instrumentals, and Ndegeocello’s magnetic tenor voice. A D.C. native who grew up playing bass in go-go and R&B bands, and now a multi-Grammy winner, Ndegeocello brings the talented band behind No More Water to Strathmore. (listing by Giovanni Russonello)
FRAN VIELMA QUARTET
Thursday, Oct. 10, 4:30 p.m.
Metropolitan Park (free and open to the public)
[view on calendar]
Venezuelan percussionist and arranger Fran Vielma, an instructor at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory, gathers some of the strongest musicians from the District and Charm City to present a special program of music by Pan-American composers, including many from Latin America. His quartet performs as part of a free concert series at Metropolitan Park at National Landing.
MAKAYA MCCRAVEN
Sunday, Oct. 20, 5 p.m.
Sycamore and Oak (free, registration required)
[view on calendar]
Over the past decade or so, drummer and producer Makaya McCraven has become the standard-bearer for a new modernist strain of jazz. His remix projects Deciphering the Message and We’re New Again reimagine classic works by Blue Note jazz artists and Gil Scott-Heron, respectively. Meanwhile his mixtapes and albums like Where We Come From and Universal Beings showcase a strong affinity for the forward-thinking, style-blurring jazz and improvised music happening everywhere from London to Chicago (McCraven’s home base) in recent years.
His free performance will close out the fall presentation series at Sycamore and Oak, co-sponsored by the Howard Theater.
ISAIAH COLLIER
Wednesday, Oct. 30, 7 and 9:30 p.m.
Blues Alley (tickets)
[view on calendar]
Saxophonist Isaiah Collier is carrying the torch of the kind of deeply cathartic, wailing spirirtual jazz — the music of artists like Pharoah Sanders and AACM icons like Muhal Richard Abrams and Kahil El’Zabar — into Generation Z. On the tenor, he exhibits the same kind of tight control that Sanders was known for, whether using his sax for rocket-like propulsion or gentle prayer. He and his group the Chosen Few are celebrating a new album, The World is on Fire.
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