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The top 5 D.C. jazz albums of 2025


This past spring, in one of his last acts as artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center, Jason Moran gathered some of the great practitioners of this music for a summit of listening, improvisation and spontaneous composition. It was a night about making. This has felt all the more radical in light of the…





What’s on the Calendar

Saturday, December 27

Blues Alley – District of Columbia

Heidi Martin Ensemble’s “A Jazzy Father Christmas”

Vocalist Heidi Martin is one of D.C.’s treasures: She emits messages complex but clear, with an essence of mourning and resilience that hints at Billie Holiday and a quavering force not unlike Joni Mitchell’s. But as a poet, she’s most…