5 D.C. jazz picks for September 2026

Happy jazz festival season D.C.!

A trio of annual jazz celebrations take over the region this month. First, the mainstay DC Jazz Festival descends on the Wharf over Labor Day Weekend (more on that below). Later, two other perennial one-day festivals will be held on the same day at opposite ends of the D.C. diamond: The Rosslyn Jazz Festival returns on Sept. 12 to Gateway Park for its 34th edition, featuring a more Afro-Caribbean and Afro-centric jazz lineup than usual with artists like the Togolese funk band Dogo du Togo & The Alagaa Beat Band and Puerto Rican mainstay Plena Libre headlining. Also on Sept. 12, the Silver Spring Jazz Festival returns to downtown Silver Spring, where Cuban groove project Cimafunk will headline a day of music anchored by strong local performers like saxophonist Elijah Easton leading his trio and saxophonist Paul Carr pairing with vocalist Alison Crockett.

A handful of other scattered shows to highlight across the city and the scene: First, head to Rhizome on Sept. 10 when trumpeter Dave Ballou, bass clarinetist John Dieker, bassist Adam Hopkins and drummer Mike Kuhl — four longtime fixtures of Baltimore and D.C.’s jazz and creative music scenes — join a bill with Brooklyn’s Michael Sarian in a heraldic evening of musical exploration. On Sept. 19, flutist and vocalist Alex Hamburger joins longtime musical partner José Luiz Martins to celebrate the release of their new duo project Catalog of Dreams at the Kreeger Museum (Disclosure: Hamburger is CapitalBop’s managing director). And then on Sept. 22, the young electro jazz/hip-hop duo DOMi and JD Beck play the Howard Theater as they tour their second Blue Note album, Who Asked?

Finally, a programming note for the scene: After 27 years of curating Westminster Presbyterian Church’s Friday “Jazz Night in D.C.,” singer Dick Smith and Reverend Brian Hamilton are transitioning that role to Paul Carr. Congratulations Paul, we’ll look forward to what “Mr. Real Jazz” brings to that role. And we cannot thank Dick and Rev. Hamilton enough for the nearly three decades of service cultivating this spiritual center for the scene.

For all other jazz needs this festival season, please consult the full D.C. jazz calendar.

DC JAZZFEST AT THE WHARF

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5-6, all day
The Wharf (tickets & full schedule)
[view Day 1, Day 2 on calendar]

The DC Jazz Festival returns to The Wharf for its final day of programming for the 22nd annual incarnation of the festival. Music begins at noon each day and goes until late, with shows happening at venues around the Wharf, including two pier stages, Union Stage, Pearl Street Warehouse and Arena Stage. The easiest way to plan your day is to check out the full schedule, but be aware that not all ticket options get you into every event. Check out the ticketing breakdown to make sure you’ll be able to get into your favorite shows.

The festival is once again extensive, but here are a couple of CapitalBop’s must-see highlights:

Sept. 5, 6:15 p.m. Janelle Gill and Amina Claudine Meyers, Arena Stage 

Janelle Gill is a highly emotive pianist whose lush playing embodies the impressionistic, colorful harmonies of modern jazz as well as the lyrical quality of old-guard predecessors like Mary Lou Williams. Her own work also takes on the classical contours , aiming for higher complexities in harmony and form. She is featured as one of the DC Jazz Festival’s 2026 Artists-in-Residence.

As AIR, she partners with legendary pianist, vocalist and early member of the AACM Amina Claudine Myers. Myers — named an NEA Jazz Master in 2024 — is one of the most respected pianists of her generation, though she’s never become the most widely known. Originally from Arkansas, Myers was a pupil in the tradition of the church, where she played organ and piano. In the ’70s Myers relocated to New York City along with many of the “first wave” of AACM members. She began a long and fruitful career as a leader and collaborator, with many of the most well-known Creative Musicians of the time. Her gorgeous, fulsome voice complements her absolutely remarkable keyboard playing, which comprises a seamless blend of warm gospel harmonies and free-form improvising.

Sept. 6, 6:30 p.m. Danilo Perez Trio, Arena Stage 

Danilo Perez is a Panamanian pianist whose music combines Latin folk, jazz, European impressionism and African musical styles. He emerged in the jazz renaissance of the 1990s and gained greater prominence as a member of Wayne Shorter’s Quartet until the maestro’s transition in 2023. He still maintains deep musical relationships with his co-conspirators in that group, bassist John Pattitucci and drummer Brian Blade.

Here he performs his program “Panamonk,” injecting the rhythms and cadence of his native Panama into the angular harmonies and crooked melodies of Thelonious Monk.

LETTUM PLAY: TENOR MADNESS

Friday, Sept. 11, 6 p.m.
Westminster Presbyterian Church ($10 at the door, free for kids under 16)
[view on calendar]

Frankie Addison is a living testament to the old school D.C. jazz scene, one where musicians could seamlessly pivot from a U Street club gig into T.V., orchestra or any other work that may come up. Lionel Lyles’ voice on the tenor saxophone is straightforward and impassioned. His improvising, arranging and bandleading takes most of its cues from the beloved hard bop tradition of the 1950s and ‘60s. 

The two pair up to lead a group celebrating the legacy of Lettum Play, a jazz education program started by Tony Taylor in the late 1970s. Former Westminster booker Dick Smith was working with Lettum Play and looking for spaces for D.C. jazz elders to play when he met Rev. Brian Hamilton, leading to the Westminster series. 

THEO CROKER

Sunday, Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Howard Theater (tickets)
[view on calendar]

Trumpeter Theo Croker has established himself as a jazz superstar over the past decade, boasting collaborations with hip-hop royalty like Common and Wyclef Jean, neo-soul icon Jill Scott, and longtime creative partners Kassa Overall and Dee Dee Bridgewater. The Grammy Award Nominee was mentored by Donald Byrd, and came onto the scene in 2014 with his album Afro Physicist, fusing African percussion with hip-hop beats and spirited improvisation. He calls back to the Afrofuturistic aesthetics of the 1970s to deliver an eclectic blend of jazz, neo-soul and electronic music.

PAT METHENY

Thursday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore (tickets)
[view on calendar]

NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny got his start playing with vibraphonist Gary Burton, releasing his debut Bright Size Life shortly thereafter. Since then, he has become a true jazz crossover star, with 20 Grammy awards to his name and a host of significant recordings on major jazz labels like Nonesuch and ECM. He’s also been a mentor to rising jazz stars like Linda May Han Oh and D.C.’s own Ben Williams, bringing younger musicians into the fold through groups like Side Eye, the Unity Band and his namesake Pat Metheny Group.

Through Metheny’s entire performance history, he has stuck to a distinct style of electric jazz fusion that pulls influence from classical guitar, rock and folk music. 

Here he performs with his Side Eye III+ band.

NICHOLAS PAYTON “A BLUE SUPREME”

Saturday, Sept. 26, 7 and 9:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 27, 5:30 and 8 p.m.
Blues Alley (tickets) 
[view on calendar: Saturday, Sunday]

Don’t call what trumpeter Nicholas Payton makes “jazz.” The New Orleans-born and -bred musician argues that we should describe his music as simply part of the “Black American Music” tradition (or, as he calls it, “BAM”). It’s an attitude that reflects his history in the Big Easy, where traditional jazz can easily morph into funk, hip-hop, R&B, bounce or whatever else is playing in the streets. Payton’s music is reflective of those straddled lines, while also pulling from Afro-Caribbean and modern electronic influences.

Here he pays tribute to the centennials of BAM giants Miles Davis and John Coltrane, performing tracks from his 2026 album A Supreme Blue, a collaboration between Payton and fusion collective Butcher Brown.