‘Ain’t But a Few of Us:’ Willard Jenkins on why Black jazz writers’ voices matter
The idea for Ain’t But a Few of Us, Willard Jenkins’ new volume exploring the experiences and work of Black jazz writers, is nearly 50 years old. Known for his prolific work not only as a writer, but also as an arts administrator, advocate, organizer and educator, Jenkins came up writing for the Black Watch, […]
5 live jazz picks for February in D.C.
After a brief period of hibernation in January, the D.C. jazz scene is starting to roar back to life. Our region’s first major festival of the year returns when the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival takes over the Rockville Hilton Feb. 17 – 19, drawing tourists back into town and giving local musicians a spotlight next to […]
House without organs: Rhizome DC, hear and now
The word – the troubling, discouraging word – didn’t come from their landlord, remembers Layne Garrett. Sometime late in the summer of 2020, while the world was still discovering what it means to be ill-prepared for a global pandemic, someone was perusing a website that tracks development projects in D.C., and noticed a proposal for […]
5 live jazz picks for January in D.C.
Happy New Year! I hope you all – readers, musicians and other D.C. jazz movers and shakers – got to take some time to rest, recharge and relax over the holiday period. January is, perhaps expectedly, a rather slow month, shows-wise. The scene is resetting and adjusting, and touring artists are not quite back on the […]
Hear the Howard University Jazz Ensemble’s grand send-off to Andrew White
The late saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist and polymath Andrew White was a D.C. jazz legend. At once a musician ahead of his time and an authoritative scholar on the music of John Coltrane, he also played bass for Stevie Wonder, the 5th Dimension and Weather Report (with whom he also featured on French horn); earned accolades from […]
CapitalBop’s best D.C. jazz albums of 2022
It has been a difficult year, by all accounts, but on the D.C. music scene it’s also been a hopeful one. The list you see below is only the tip of the iceberg: This was one of the strongest crops of recordings that CapitalBop has seen since our team started doing year-end recaps a dozen […]
‘The Nutcracker’ gets a new groove, thanks to Joe McCarthy and the Afro-Bop Alliance
The Afro-Bop Alliance is known for combining the swaying, dance floor-ready rhythms of Latin America – Cuba, in particular – with the harmonic and melodic intricacies of a sharp, heady bebop sound. The DMV-based group had its reputation cemented in 2008, when its Caribbean Jazz Project won the Latin Grammy for Jazz Album of the […]
CB Presents: Joel Ross’ Good Vibes in a special concert on Jan. 7
We’re excited to announce that CapitalBop will present Joel Ross’ Good Vibes, one of the most acclaimed and cutting-edge groups in jazz today, in a special “CB Presents” concert at NYU Washington DC, on Saturday, Jan. 7. This show will be Good Vibes’ first major concert presentation in the DMV area. Ross’ set will be […]
5 live jazz picks for December in D.C.
As I was looking over the calendar this month, I was reminded that nearly a year ago – after six months of uneasy but joyously resurgent, in-person live jazz in the nation’s capital – the Omicron variant of the coronavirus swept through the East Coast. Gigs were canceled as Christmas approached, leaving the end of […]
Your guide to this weekend’s Catalytic Sound Festival at Rhizome
The Catalytic Sound Festival will bring together creative musicians from D.C., Baltimore and beyond, to Rhizome DC this Saturday and Sunday. The lineup will include well-known performers like Dave Ballou, Nate Wooley, Brian Settles and Janel & Anthony, among many others. The area hasn’t seen such a significant gathering of free improvisers and imaginative jazz […]