DC Jazz Fest Is Here!
The DC Jazz Fest is back with a bang. This year’s festival, which started on June 7 and lasts until June 18, presents stars like Robert Glasper, Maceo Parker, Christian Scott a Tunde and Ben Williams at the District Wharf in Southwest; Delfeayo Marsalis, Regina Carter and Terence Blanchard at The Hamilton Live Series; Chucho Valdes & Gonzalo Rubalcaba at the Kennedy Center; and of course, Jazz in the ‘hoods at venues all over town.
The DC Jazz Fest DC JazzPrix finalists for the annual band competition are: Baltimore’s The Cornerstore, developed by bassist Kris Funn; the Emmet Cohen Trio of New York; Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead of New York; the Roxy Coss Quintet of New York and the Sanbone Pagode Oquestra Ensemble of Brazil, with the finals June 16 at the District Wharf.
For complete information, including show times and ticketing information, visit www.dcjazzfest.org.
Congratulations, Larry Appelbaum and Lea Gilmore!
Congratulations to our area’s Jazz Journalist Heroes for 2018, Larry Appelbaum, 2018 Washington DC Jazz Hero, and Lea Gilmore, Baltimore Jazz Hero.
Appelbaum, known worldwide as a WPFW-FM Radio programmer, is a senior music reference librarian and jazz specialist in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, where he has worked for nearly 40 years. As former supervisor of the library’s Magnetic Recording Laboratory, he transferred, edited and mastered many classical, jazz and folk recordings for commercial release.
His status as a jazz hero for all time was secured in 2004, when he discovered in the Library of Congress’s archives a complete and revelatory November 1957 Carnegie Hall recording of the Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane, made by Voice of America but ignored for nearly half a century. The recording, which more than doubled the documentation of those two musicians’ brief but significant collaboration, was restored and released the following year on Blue Note Records as “Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall.”
Gilmore, one of the world’s most respected inspirational vocalists, as well as a writer, social justice advocate and lecturer on human rights, has been said to command a “rich and passionate voice … a gift from her soul to our ears.” The jazz, blues and gospel vocalist has lent her voice, literally and figuratively, to advocacy for the underserved around the globe and in her own backyard.
Named by Essence as one of “25 Women Shaping the World,” she is a winner of the Blue Foundation’s Keeping the Blues Alive award, for her historical work on women’s contributions to that music, and a recipient of the 2016 Golden Formstone Award from Baltimore’s Creative Alliance, for her efforts with arts and commitment to social justice.
‘DC Jazz’ Coming in June
Look for the June 2018 release of “DC Jazz – Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC,” by editors Maurice Jackson and Blair A. Rubles, from Georgetown University Press.
June Highlights: … Benito Gonzalez, June 9, Twins Jazz … Shacara Rogers, June 9, The Alex/Graham Georgetown Hotel … Terence Blanchard/E-Collective, June 9, Hamilton Live … JazzForum/Tom Teasley, “Drumming through Time & Culture,” June 11, University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Recital Hall/Bldg. 46-West … Allan Harris/Lena Seikaly, June 10, Hamilton Live … Ola Onabule, June 11, Blues Alley … Allyn Johnson/Meet the Artist – Paul Carr, UDC Recital Hall/Bldg. 46-West … Carl Grubbs Ensemble, June 13, Liberty Senior Center/Randallstown … Yacine Boulares’ AJOYO, June 14, Atlas Performing Arts Center … Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton, June 14-17, Blues Alley … Michael Thomas Quintet, June 15, Jazz in the Garden/National Gallery of Art … Swingin’ with Alex Jenkins, June 15, Westminster Presbyterian Church … John Russell Lamkin III, June 15-16, Twins Jazz … Henrik Meurkens, June 22, Jazz in the Garden/National Gallery of Art … Nicki Parrott, June 24, Jazzway6004/Baltimore … Lena Seikaly, June 16, The Alex … Marshall Keys Ensemble/Music of Eddie Harris, June 17, Penn Hill Shopping Center … Terri Lyne Carrington/Esperanza Spalding/Nicholas Payton, June 21-22, Blues Alley … Gene Lamont/Remembering Donnie West, June 22, Westminster … Alison Crockett, June 23, The Alex … Reginald Cyntje, June 24, DC Jazz Jam/The Brixton … Herbie Hancock, June 24, Music Center at Strathmore … Kent Miller Group, June 24, Twins Jazz … Nicki Parrott, June 24, Jazzway6004/Baltimore … The JoGo Project, June 26, Blues Alley … Tiffany Lloyd, June 27, Blues Alley … Joshua Bayer, June 29, Jazz in the Garden/National Gallery of Art … Keith Killgo/Tribute to Art Blakey, June 29, Westminster … Thinking About Jazz/Art Blakey, June 30, Westminster … Mark Whitfield Band/Sy Smith, June 30, Blues Alley … Rochelle Rice, June 30, The Alex …
June Birthdays: Josephine Baker, Dakota Staton 3; Oliver Nelson, Anthony Braxton 4; Monty Alexander 5; Jimmie Lunceford, Grant Green 6; Tal Farlow, Tina Brooks 7; Kenny Barron 9; Chick Corea, Geri Allen 12; Jaki Byard, Erroll Garner 15; Lucky Thompson 16; Eric Dolphy 20; Jamil Nasser 21; Milt Hinton 23; Reggie Workman 26; Andrew Hill 30.
Steve Monroe is a Washington, DC, writer who can be reached at steve@jazzavenues.com and followed at www.twitter.com/jazzavenues.
