Five days of jazz will stretch across Washington's neighborhoods starting Sept. 2, when the 22nd annual DC JazzFest opens at The Hamilton Live and fans out to The Wharf, Arena Stage, the Kreeger Museum and a half-dozen smaller stages through Sept. 6.
The festival draws nearly 100,000 visitors each year. This year's lineup is headlined by NEA Jazz Master vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, guitarist Bill Frisell, tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman and Kurt Elling performing Weather Report material with the Yellowjackets, all at The Wharf over Labor Day weekend.
The Washington Informer reported the full lineup on Aug. 19, detailing a schedule themed "The Future of Jazz: America's Next 250 Years" that touches Southwest, Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, the Palisades and Downtown.
Opening night and midweek shows
The Hamilton Live hosts two sets on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The JazzDC All-Stars Orchestra, directed by saxophonist Paul Carr, will feature Grammy-nominated vocalist Christie Dashiell and NEA Jazz Master drummer and vibraphonist Jason Marsalis as guest soloists.
Marsalis is the youngest member of New Orleans' first family of jazz.
Thursday, Sept. 3, brings a free outdoor show at Anthem Row downtown from 4:30 to 9 p.m. with Butcher Brown, Marshall Keys & Soulful Path and the Corcoran Holt Quintet. Holt is a Duke Ellington School of the Arts graduate. That same evening, trumpeter Joe Brotherton plays St. Vincent Wine in Columbia Heights and Dan Murray performs at the Kreeger Museum in the Palisades.
On Friday, Sept. 4, the second annual Organ Summit at Westminster Church pairs Charles Covington with guest Mike LeDonne on Hammond B-3. The Heidi Martin Ensemble plays Mr. Henry's on Capitol Hill; tickets are $30.
The Wharf weekend
The festival's two-day grand finale along the Potomac riverfront on Saturday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6, adds indoor stages at Arena Stage, Union Stage and Pearl Street Warehouse. Beyond the headliners, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, the Orrin Evans Trio featuring Lisa Fischer, drummer-bandleader Nate Smith and the Danilo Perez Trio's "PanaMonk" project fill the bill.
DC JazzFest also honors three jazz centennials this year: Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Randy Weston were all born in 1926. Pianist Emmet Cohen performs "Miles and Trane at 100" as artist-in-residence, while Isaiah Collier presents "Collier Plays Coltrane."
The grand finale Sunday brings NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Big Chief Donald Harrison and DC's own Chuck Brown Band to close the festival.
"We invite everyone to join us at The Wharf and across our city to experience why the District is a premier cultural destination," Events DC president and CEO Angie M. Gates said in the Aug. 19 announcement.
Free events and how to attend
Free "Meet the Artist" conversations with performers take place at Arena Stage on Sept. 5 and 6; free tickets are required. The DCJazzPrix emerging-bands finals happen Saturday at Union Stage, featuring four groups including South Africa's Bokani Dyer Trio.
Pianist Allyn Johnson, known as "The Dean of DC jazz," performs with his trio at The Wharf. Howard University's Afro Blue vocal alums Ekep Nkwelle and Shacara Rogers each lead bands across the weekend.
Some concerts are free; most are ticketed. The full schedule and tickets are available at dcjazzfest.org.
Upcoming community calendar
- Sept. 2: DC JazzFest Opening Night, The Hamilton Live, 8 p.m.
- Sept. 3: Free DowntownDC at Anthem Row, 4:30–9 p.m.
- Sept. 4: Organ Summit, Westminster Church
- Sept. 5–6: DC JazzFest at The Wharf, plus Arena Stage, Union Stage and Pearl Street Warehouse
