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Interviews

Cristian Perez’s Musica Mundi: Guitarist With a Global Appetite Shares His Vision

D.C. embodies the spirit of musical fusion. For decades, artists in the nation’s capital have stretched the boundaries of genre and style. Today, few are as enthusiastically committed to that pursuit as guitarist Cristian Perez. Both trained as a classical guitarist and educated in jazz, Perez has returned in recent years to the South American […]

August 16, 2016 0

Announcing...

DC Jazz Loft this Sunday! Join us at Union Arts while you still can, for sets from Elijah Jamal Balbed, Aaron Martin + Alex Hamburger

It’s that time of year again: D.C.’s dog days are coming to a close. To celebrate a summer packed full of great shows, we’ve made sure our next DC Jazz Loft is especially hard-hitting. Come out this Sunday to CapitalBop’s home base—Union Arts, at 411 New York Ave. NE—to see what we’re talking about. And […]

August 9, 2016 1

Live reviews

Michael Bowie and BLAST: Anything goes, and everything grooves, in this master bassist’s new jazz-pop fusion band

Michael Bowie’s BLAST Blues Alley Tuesday, July 19 Genres can sometimes limit more than they empower, especially in jazz. Max Roach mused that “jazz is a four-letter word,” and that oft-quoted phrase has become a rallying cry for a proud line of artists who spurn traditionalism in favor of fusion. Bassist Michael Bowie is one […]

August 9, 2016 1

Live reviews

Theo Croker walks the line between past and future, serenity and struggle

Theo Croker The Hamilton Thursday, July 14, 2016 Theo Croker knows how to make silence speak. The rising young trumpeter opened his D.C. debut on July 14 at the Hamilton with “Transcend,” a tune that featured full-band breaks so long it seemed as if the group had stopped playing altogether. But the reason for those […]

July 22, 2016 0

Live reviews

A family affair: WPFW celebrates Bohemian Caverns’ Omrao Brown, with a lot of help from his friends

WPFW Honors Omrao Brown Bethesda Blues & Jazz Monday, July 11, 2016 For 90 years, with a few interruptions, Bohemian Caverns served as a hub for the D.C. jazz community. When the Caverns’ closure made the news in March, musicians and listeners across the country understood that they were losing more than a jazz club; […]

July 18, 2016 1

Announcing...

DC Jazz Loft this Sunday: Heidi Martin, Elijah Easton, Jamal Moore — three heavy hitters

Our concert presenting has traveled far and wide this year. In April, we presented transcendent innovations from A-list jazz heavyweights Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith. Our pop-up stage at the DC Jazz Festival hosted three incredible nights of music, featuring some of the hottest acts from Chicago, New York City, and Philly, alongside some […]

July 6, 2016 0

News

DC Jazz Festival launches DCJazzPrix contest this Saturday, showcasing emerging jazz talent from D.C. and New York

Now in its 12th year, the DC Jazz Festival has always been a showcase of the city’s rich jazz scene, with concerts each year across the District’s four quadrants. But now, the festival is seeking to shine a new light on emerging talent from across the country, with a new initiative called DCJazzPrix. The band […]

June 16, 2016 0

News

NEA announces 2017 Jazz Masters; ceremony to be held in D.C. for second consecutive year

The National Endowment for the Arts on Monday announced the recipients of the 2017 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, and also confirmed that the awards ceremony would return to D.C. next year. It will mark the second consecutive year that the event takes place at the Kennedy Center, after years of being stationed at New York […]

June 14, 2016 0

News

The 2016 DC Jazz Festival: An expert guide to making the most

Starting today, the DC Jazz Festival is back for its twelfth annual celebration of the art form we like to call jazz. After last year’s short-yet-jam-packed six-day festival, this year’s schedule stretches out over 10 days of whopping music, spread across the city’s four quadrants. In the past year, we’ve seen jazz musicians in D.C. […]

June 10, 2016 0

Announcing...

CapitalBop returns to the DC Jazz Fest: Orrin Evans, Makaya McCraven, Marquis Hill, Michele Rosewoman & more

Jazz nowadays seems to get bigger, bolder and more exciting with every passing moment. And a lot of the action is happening in big ensembles, where textures and colors and rhythms can play around in a gurgling cauldron. So next month, for our sixth annual DC Jazz Loft Series at the DC Jazz Festival, we’ve decided […]

May 24, 2016 0