Album reviews

CapitalBop’s best D.C. jazz albums of 2023

For the past few years, our introduction to this annual tradition has followed a familiar theme: It’s been a tough year, but the city’s musicians — and the recordings they’ve put out — have given us reason for hope and proof of resilience. Now, almost four years after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, we can confidently […]
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The Month in Shows

5 live jazz picks for December in D.C.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – and by that, I mean that we in the D.C. area are enjoying the last month we’ve got before a major election year gets underway. Those dreading the events to come between now and next November can find some frosty comfort in the many Christmas and […]
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Features

Twenty years in, JoJo is the last classic jazz spot standing on U Street — and it’s thriving

On an early Wednesday evening this summer, drummer Lenny Robinson was deftly steering a remarkable trio, consisting of vibraphonist Chris Barrick and keyboardist Federico González Peña. During their first set at JoJo Restaurant & Bar, they delighted a sparse yet attentive crowd with sparkling renditions of Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance” and “Tell Me A Bedtime […]
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The Month in Shows

5 live jazz picks for November in D.C.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7 for Virginia residents (ballot information here). If you’re in Virginia, the CB team would like to encourage you to make time to go to the polls, if you haven’t already voted, especially knowing how intimately local governance can shape our region’s music scene. The end of Halloween signals the […]
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Interviews

Charles Tolliver talks Strata-East, 1960s D.C., and why he keeps coming back to Trane

Trumpeter Charles Tolliver is known for many things: co-founding the highly influential Strata-East label with his collaborator, the pianist Stanley Cowell; co-leading the ferocious post-bop group Music Inc., also with Cowell; and contributing as a sideman on many now-iconic records from the mid-1960s and beyond. What fewer fans might remember is that he attended Howard […]
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Features

‘Change is the most constant thing we got’: D.C. artists reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they’ve recovered

In early 2020, the COVID-19 virus began to spread worldwide, quickly transforming the lives of billions across the globe. November will mark the six-month mark since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended their public-health emergency declaration, putting an official bookend on this chapter in our history. Now that this world-altering event is in […]
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The Month in Shows

5 live jazz picks for October in D.C.

Festival season has passed, though the city’s jazz scene will stay hot even as autumn rolls in. And by avoiding a government shutdown, our region has dodged (for now) an economic strain that would have certainly affected the venues where much of this music is performed. October is, of course, the month of Halloween. Though […]
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News

DC Jazz Festival 2023 guide

The DC Jazz Festival is back this weekend for its 19th year, and its third since moving from early summer to Labor Day weekend. While the festival has condensed in the last few years, and no longer features the weeks-long, city-wide sprawl of its pre-pandemic editions, it has certainly upped the density of shows during […]
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The Month in Shows

5 D.C. jazz picks for September 2023

The 19th annual DC Jazz Festival is now in full swing; if you’re planning to attend, hop over to CapitalBop’s full festival guide for a rundown of which shows you really shouldn’t miss this weekend. But if you’re not going to make it (most of the major events are sold out by now), fear not: […]
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