Would you like some cool live music to send you soaring into Labor Day weekend?
The D.C. Jazz Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary from Wednesday through Sunday.
“It’s become quite a cultural destination in D.C., right up there with cherry blossoms and the Folklife Festival,” President and CEO Sunny Sumter told WTOP. “When Charlie Fishman, our founder and his wife Stephanie Peters started the festival on a paper napkin 20 years ago, little did they know that they would be starting with 12 concerts and fast forward 20 years, we are celebrating with over 100 concerts over five days and 70,000 people.”
The festival kicks off Wednesday with a lunchtime concert by The JoGo Project combining jazz and go-go at Franklin Park, followed by Howard University graduate and bass player extraordinaire Eliot Seppa at The Kennedy Center. You can also enjoy The Jazz D.C. All-Stars at The Hamilton, followed by sold-out shows at the Embassy of Australia with saxophonists James Morrison and Lakecia Benjamin.
Thursday brings Baltimore’s Ebban & Ephraim Dorsey Quintet to The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, as well as Montgomery County’s Paul Carr with The Junto Trio at Takoma Station. You also don’t want to miss the Billy Strayhorn theatrical tribute “An Evening with Strayhorn” developed by George Washington University professor Barry Moton at Mr. Henry’s on Capitol Hill, followed by “D.C.’s Ella Fitzgerald” Sharón Clark at Kreeger Museum.
Friday brings Virginia trombonist Shannon Gunn to The Kennedy Center, followed by Jazz Night in D.C. at Westminster Church for a tribute to Donald Byrd and Kevin Toney, the late founders of The Blackbyrds. The night wraps with an A-list lineup on The Wharf at The Anthem, including Jacob Collier, D-Nice and three-time Grammy winner Samara Joy, who just won Best New Artist in 2023 and joined WTOP to preview this weekend’s concert.
Saturday returns to The Wharf on Transit Pier with Reginald Cyntje, Stephen Arnold & Sea Change, Joe Block Open Heart Trio, Nicholas Payton & Light Beings, Paolo Fresu and Emmet Cohen Trio and Houston Person. Nearby, District Pier hosts Michael Thomas Quintet, David Murray Quartet, Cimafunk and Stanley Clarke. Arena Stage hosts Jabali Billy Hart, Kenny Barron Voyage Trio, Terri Lyne Carrington and Carmen Lundy. And Union Stage hosts the D.C. Jazz Prix Finals, Jazz Fest Jam, Confluencia, Nasar Abadey and Supernova.
Sunday wraps on District Pier with Bobby Sanabria, Dianne Reeves, Galactic and Chuck Brown Band. Transit Pier hosts B.J. Simmons, Amy K. Bormet Trio, Clovis Nicolas Quartet, New Jazz Underground, Brandee Younger Trio and Bill Frisell Four. Arena Stage hosts Muneer Nasser, Kris Davis’ Diatom Ribbons, Ron Carter Trio and a Sonny Stitt tribute. And Union Stage hosts Monika Herzig and Joonas Haavisto, Next Jazz Legacy and Corcoran Holt Quintet.
“Come to celebrate all things jazz in D.C.,” Sumter said. “We are a global brand now, people are coming from all around the world, but we want each of you to come celebrate with us for five days, 12 neighborhoods, over 100 concerts, a lot free, moderately-priced tickets, come and celebrate this great music over Labor Day weekend.”
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