Interviews

Robert Glasper previews his two-week residency at the Kennedy Center

For the last 15 years, Robert Glasper has been on a singular mission to reconnect jazz to the world of popular music around it — to build a bridge from Kendrick Scott to Kendrick Lamar.  Before putting out his first recording under his own name in 2004, the pianist, bandleader and producer was working as […]
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News
Akua Allrich and Carolyn Malachi/Courtesy of the artist and Darrel Todd

The Congressional Black Caucus jazz concert gets a lifeline from local activists

This year marks a new beginning for the Congressional Black Caucus Jazz Concert, a historic gathering now in its 34th year, which will take place on Thursday. For the first time, the concert will occur without the direct support of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF). In its stead, the locally based Capitol Hill Jazz […]
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News
The Messthetics/Courtesy Antonia Tricarico

The Messthetics are D.C.’s hottest genre-free experimentalists. They have an album-release show on Wednesday at the Black Cat.

If you haven’t heard of The Messthetics, now’s a perfect opportunity. The uncategorizable, nationally renowned trio — guitarist Anthony Pirog (known to CapitalBop audiences as a leading experimental voice) with bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty — just released its second album, Anthropocosmic Nest, this past Friday, and the band performs tunes from the […]
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Album reviews
Joshua Espinoza Trio/Courtesy J Fannon Photography

On new album, the Joshua Espinoza Trio ‘Journeys’ from nostalgia to discovery

From the very first track, it’s clear that the Baltimorean pianist Joshua Espinoza’s recent release is titled appropriately. Journey Into Night is, aurally, a trip into the shadows — sometimes casting familiar songs in an unfamiliar hue, and sometimes presenting original compositions that, in low light, you could swear you’ve heard before. The backbone of […]
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Features
Brandee Younger/Courtesy Erin Patrice O'Brien

The REACH Opening Festival at the Kennedy Center places jazz in the spotlight

The REACH — the Kennedy Center’s new expansion, which opens to the public this Saturday — was specifically designed for both public outreach and emerging forms of artistic presentation. The 15-day REACH Opening Festival kickstarts those efforts in a major way. Starting this weekend and running through Sept. 22, the festival will bring some of […]
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Features
The REACH sculpture/CapitalBop

Take a look inside the REACH, the Kennedy Center’s new expansion (and jazz venue)

The Kennedy Center will open the REACH this Saturday, a 4.6-acre, $250 million expansion with a new state-of-the-art building that promises to modernize its presenting and outreach efforts. With the REACH, the center will have venues for functions that have rarely found natural homes at the institution. The expansion specifically targets community engagement, education and […]
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The Month in Shows
Theo Croker/Courtesy Valerie J. Bower

5 September D.C. jazz picks

As we head into September, with the onset of autumn’s cooler days and performing arts centers’ 2019-20 seasons, D.C.’s hometown jazz musicians are coming out in full force. This month kicks off with a series of strong shows right out of the gate. The trance-inducing bass/electronics and drum duo Blacks’ Myths (Luke Stewart, who is […]
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