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The Month in Shows

5 D.C. jazz picks for August 2024

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, […]

August 1, 2024 0

News

The Carlyle Room has closed after two years of trying to bring music back to downtown D.C.

The Carlye Room, the vintage-minded venue that moved to downtown D.C. from Alexandria two years ago, and quickly became one of the most consistent homes for straight-ahead jazz in the nation’s capital, has closed. The space ceased all operations on Tuesday, according to Kris Ross, the venue’s booker. By Wednesday, all shows that had been […]

August 1, 2024 0

Features

Through Cats’ Eyes: joy and resistance in jazz through the lens of violinist Jamie Sandel

Editor’s note: This article is part of a recurring series highlighting D.C. musicians who double as photographers, part of a long tradition in jazz that has included legends like Milt Hinton, Oscar Peterson and Sy Johnson. You can find other entries in the series here. Jamie Sandel is a bassist, violinist, composer and radio host […]

July 27, 2024 0

Album reviews

On ‘everything at once,’ hypnotic trio Dream Feeder builds a world of gentle nurturing

You could be forgiven for drifting off at Dream Feeder’s record release show this past Tuesday night at Rhizome. This is not because the music off of everything at once, the trio’s debut album, is dull or stultifying but rather because its very nature invites tranquility, mediation and an atmosphere of peace in our increasingly […]

July 16, 2024 0

Live reviews

At Jubilee Arts, The Baltimore Jazz Collective carries the torch for Charm City

On a hot summer night in Baltimore’s Penn-North district, a leaderless sextet of auspicious local musicians offered an incredible performance for a packed gallery space within the main showroom of the Jubilee Arts community space. The ensemble, known as the Baltimore Jazz Collective, is a part of a long line of historic Baltimore jazz musicians […]

July 12, 2024 0

The Month in Shows

5 D.C. jazz picks for July 2024

I hope you’re all staying hydrated as temperatures climb in the nation’s capital. I also hope as many of you as possible made it to Rhizome to see cellist Janel Leppin’s double album release — featuring her groups Janel and Anthony and Ensemble Volcanic Ash, respectively — late last month. If you didn’t, you can […]

July 2, 2024 0

Features

On new albums by Ensemble Volcanic Ash and Janel & Anthony, cellist Janel Leppin weaves together intention and abstraction

It begins simply enough: a gentle cascade of finger-picked guitar notes high up on the fretboard, at once supporting and complemented by the long, fluid strokes of a bow across cello strings. There is a warmth and intimacy to the melodies, like a quilt being stitched around you in real time. Then the music transforms, […]

June 24, 2024 0

The Month in Shows

5 D.C. jazz picks for June 2024

Now that summer is in full swing, so is the season of outdoor festivals, bringing with it a breadth of artists from around the country and the Black American Music world. Capital Jazz Fest returns to Merriweather Post Pavilion June 7, 8 and 9 with a strong lineup of artists that exemplify the modern-day jazz […]

June 6, 2024 0

Announcing...

The Home Rule Music Festival returns June 21-22 (and July 20!) with Gary Bartz, Vanessa Rubin, DuPont Brass & more

The mercury is rising and AC units have started to hum. It’s time to start figuring out how you’re going to spend the brightest moments of summer in the swampy capital city. Don’t sweat — we got you. Together with our friends at Home Rule Records and the Home Rule Music & Film Preservation Foundation, CapitalBop […]

May 28, 2024 0

Features

My Body, My Festival taps D.C.’s many music scenes in support of abortion access

D.C.-based flutist and composer Alex Hamburger believes passionately in the cross-section between advocacy and art, a conviction that drove her to start My Body, My Festival, which benefits the DC Abortion Fund (DCAF) and features various artists from in and around the District. The festival returns this week for its second straight year, bringing an […]

May 15, 2024 0