Interviews
Braxton Cook/Courtesy Braxton Cook

How Braxton Cook found his voice (literally) and became a rising star in jazz

Saxophonist Braxton Cook seemed to be following the recognizable trajectory of a young D.C. jazz musician — then he moved to New York, and the path took a detour. Cook, 28, was born and raised in Silver Spring, Md., and started studying saxophone with Morgan Russell at the much-beloved (and now-shuttered) Dale’s Music before getting […]
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Interviews
Joe Chambers/Courtesy Joe Chambers

Joe Chambers: From the JFK Quintet to the Kennedy Center, by way of M’Boom

During the 1960s, a select group of masters helped redefine the traditions and artistic standards contained within the genre of jazz. Musicians like Freddie Hubbard, Donald Byrd, Wayne Shorter, Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill and Bobby Hutcherson released dozens of momentous recordings that combined rhythms and instruments from Africa and Latin America with a new style […]
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The Month in Shows
Chick Corea/Courtesy Aaron Meekcoms and Chick Corea Prod.

5 October D.C. jazz picks

It’s officially autumn — despite what the thermometer says — which means it’s prime time for some of D.C.’s favorite arts institutions to kick off their yearly schedules. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra starts its season with a tribute concert to hard-bop legend Art Blakey, celebrating his centennial at the National Museum of American History […]
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Interviews

Robert Glasper previews his two-week residency at the Kennedy Center

For the last 15 years, Robert Glasper has been on a singular mission to reconnect jazz to the world of popular music around it — to build a bridge from Kendrick Scott to Kendrick Lamar.  Before putting out his first recording under his own name in 2004, the pianist, bandleader and producer was working as […]
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News
Akua Allrich and Carolyn Malachi/Courtesy of the artist and Darrel Todd

The Congressional Black Caucus jazz concert gets a lifeline from local activists

This year marks a new beginning for the Congressional Black Caucus Jazz Concert, a historic gathering now in its 34th year, which will take place on Thursday. For the first time, the concert will occur without the direct support of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF). In its stead, the locally based Capitol Hill Jazz […]
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News
The Messthetics/Courtesy Antonia Tricarico

The Messthetics are D.C.’s hottest genre-free experimentalists. They have an album-release show on Wednesday at the Black Cat.

If you haven’t heard of The Messthetics, now’s a perfect opportunity. The uncategorizable, nationally renowned trio — guitarist Anthony Pirog (known to CapitalBop audiences as a leading experimental voice) with bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty — just released its second album, Anthropocosmic Nest, this past Friday, and the band performs tunes from the […]
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Album reviews
Joshua Espinoza Trio/Courtesy J Fannon Photography

On new album, the Joshua Espinoza Trio ‘Journeys’ from nostalgia to discovery

[ai1ec post_id=”129722″ view=”agenda”] From the very first track, it’s clear that the Baltimorean pianist Joshua Espinoza’s recent release is titled appropriately. Journey Into Night is, aurally, a trip into the shadows — sometimes casting familiar songs in an unfamiliar hue, and sometimes presenting original compositions that, in low light, you could swear you’ve heard before. […]
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