Kokayi’s adventures in ‘spontaneous composition’
Kokayi is a multi-discipline creative force who launched from D.C. and has touched the world in many ways over a lengthy career. From his start as an underground hip-hop destroyer of microphones, his roles expanded to include bandleader, producer, visual artist and — increasingly — in-demand collaborator in the wide world of jazz. As an […]
The Sun Ra Arkestra blasts off at the Howard
Sun Ra ArkestraHoward TheatreSaturday, March 22, 2025 On the first Saturday night this spring, I visited the Howard Theatre to hear the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen on a double-bill with indie-rock pioneers Yo La Tengo. The Howard has been at the corner of T Street and Florida Avenue for 115 […]
Celebrate 15 years of CapitalBop — and a new look — at Hill Prince on April 27
In dark moments, the music continues to provide light. That’s why it is such a privilege for us to be able to spend every day brining jazz, #BAM and creative music to the forefront, and letting that light shine. And as we get ready to mark our 15th anniversary, even during this wild year, we’ve […]
5 D.C. jazz picks for April 2025
As the Trump administration continues to target institutional bastions of Black American Music, like the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center, the month devoted to celebrating the music known as “jazz” feels in many ways more important than ever. Though many shows in the Jazz Appreciation Month calendar focus on the more “traditional” end of the […]
Watch: Alison Crockett and Alex Hamburger talk about how to play jazz — and #BAM — ‘from a very cultural space’
For the past 15 years, the Washington Women in Jazz Festival has created a space of sharing and community for the many women and nonbinary performers who help make the District of Columbia’s jazz scene what it is. Ahead of this weekend’s 15th annual WWJF, CapitalBop asked the festival’s 2025 artists-in-residence, vocalist Alison Crockett and […]
‘This place was love:’ One last glimpse at Bill Warrell’s Outer Space
Earlier this month, Bill Warrell — an institution on D.C.’s music and arts scene since the 1980s — hosted what he called a “firehouse sale” at Outer Space, his decommissioned firehouse-turned-studio in Brentwood, Md., as he prepared the building to be sold. Warrell was a founder of the legendary experimental-music venue d.c. space and of […]
Thad Wilson brings all-star vibes to Takoma Station
Thad Wilson QuintetTakoma StationSaturday, March 1, 2025 Thad Wilson has been a mainstay of the D.C. jazz scene since the 1990s. A leader of several ensembles, and one of the most consistent presences on jazz club stages across the city for the past 30 years, the trumpeter recently pulled together a new quintet to play […]
Anthony Braxton on his six decades in music: ‘It’s about the hope of the future’
Life is an experience, a human experience, that can, as it mounts over time, bewilder even the “friendly experiencer.” Twenty-seven years ago, I met Anthony Braxton during an elevator ride at the Library of Congress. I had waited too long to secure a ticket through normal channels, so my friend, the late Larry Appelbaum, had […]
5 D.C. jazz picks for March 2025
Women’s History Month has begun on a somber note in Washington, as we continue to mourn one of the first ladies of D.C. music, Ms. Roberta Flack. Tributes have already been held, and will continue to, for this singular weaver of story, melody and song, who famously performed nightly for years at Mr. Henry’s before […]
‘Every time I play, I hear Susan’s voice:’ Musicians remember the understated impact of Susan Alcorn
Pedal steel guitarist, composer and improviser Susan Alcorn exhibited artistic mastery in the truest sense. Alcorn, who died last month at the age of 71, demonstrated not only an outrageous amount of musical skill and knowledge of craft, but also a constant restlessness, an acknowledgment that while mastery of an instrument may be possible, it […]