Doubletime Jazz Returns to THEARC and WWJF Blooms Again
Doubletime Jazz returns to THEARC in Southeast DC with the Baylor Project, and elsewhere the Washington Women in Jazz Festival returns this March with a diverse offering of events spanning the District, Maryland and Virginia.
The Doubletime Jazz program is at 8 p.m. on March 16 at THEARC Black Box venue,1801 Mississippi Ave. SE. The group features Jean Baylor and Marcus Baylor, children of pastors, according to THEARC information, whose “musical roots were planted deep within the church, and it was there that the road was paved for the influence of gospel, blues, soul, and jazz to make its mark.” Tickets are $32.50. For more information go to www.thearcdc.org.
The Washington Women in Jazz Festival, courtesy of pianist, composer and bandleader Amy K. Bormet, kicks off with “Washington Women in Jazz & Friends” on March 10 at the AMP by Strathmore Nightclub in North Bethesda, and continues on March 21-31 with events all over, including a Shannon Gunn Tribute at the Smithsonian Art Museum on March 21 downtown; the Carla Bley Trio on March 22 at the Atlas on H Street; and several events at the Publick Playhouse in Cheverly, Maryland. For complete information, including tickets, go to www.washingtonwomeninjazz.com.
Williams, Butler-Truesdale Sign ‘Washington, DC, Jazz’
A large crowd visited Busboys and Poets in Shirlington, Virginia, on Feb. 10 for a panel program and signing of “Washington, DC, Jazz,” the new book by Regennia N. Williams and Rev. Sandra Butler-Truesdale, with a foreword by Willard Jenkins and a cover photo of saxmasters Buck Hill and Ron Holloway playing at Blues Alley. The book contains a multitude of photos and facts.
The event featured Williams, Butler-Truesdale and pianist and actor Mark G. Meadows, who was appearing in the play “Ain’t Misbehavin” at the Signature Theatre in Shirlington. The discussion included passages about DC jazz history and entertaining vignettes.
Meadows mentioned how the great pianist Ahmad Jamal surprised him early in his career with a $500 gift to help Meadows produce an album. Williams mentioned her efforts, ultimately successful, to get the rights to reproduce Shirley Horn photos in the book. Butler-Truesdale recalled attending the concert by pianist Ramsey Lewis and his trio at Bohemian Caverns that became the famous “In Crowd” album.
To order the book go to www.arcadiapublishing.com.
DC Jazz Festival Wins Award
The DC Jazz Festival (DCJF) announced that it has received a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. It will receive $225,000 over the next two years, a DCJF statement said. This flexible funding “will help DCJF achieve the programmatic and management goals” in its new two-year strategic plan. “This grant will help DCJF strategically grow its earned income to ensure greater sustainability for years to come,” said Executive Director Sunny Sumter.
Coda for Ethel Ennis, Charm City’s First Lady of Jazz
Jazz Avenues extends sympathy to the family and appreciation for the vocal greatness and immense contribution to our jazz world by Ethel Ennis, called Baltimore’s First Lady of Jazz, who passed on to ancestry last month, at the age of 86, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun.
March Highlights: … Cloudburst & Capital City Voices, March 11, Blues Alley … Eddie Palmieri, March 14-17, Blues Alley … Nicholas Payton, 15, Kennedy Center … Michael Thomas Quintet, March 15-16, Twins Jazz … Sharon Clark, March 16, The Alex/Graham Georgetown Hotel … Instrumental Ladies of Jazz Series/Jen Krupa, March 17, DC Jazz Jam/The Brixton … Lionel Lyles, March 17, Jazz and Cultural Society … Carr-Keys Quintet, March 18, Blues Alley … Kenny Barron, March 22, Kennedy Center … Antonio Parker & Friends, March 22, Westminster Presbyterian Church … Ricky Ford Quartet, March 22-23, Twins Jazz … Toppling Systemic Exclusion: Women’s Role in a Century of Jazz, March 23, Publick Playhouse … WWJF Young Artist Showcase & Jam Session, March 23, Publick Playhouse … Salon Concert/Shana Tucker, Amy K. Bormet, March 23, Pen Arts Building … String Queens with WWJF, March 27, The Hill Center … Reginald Cyntje, March 27, Jazz and Cultural Society … Leigh Pilzer/Amy K. Bormet Duo, March 28, The Center … Lee Ritenour, March 28-31, Blues Alley … Maurice Lyles’ Black History Celebration, March 29, Westminster … Cheyney Thomas, March 29-30, Twins Jazz … Instrumental Ladies of Jazz Series/Nicole Saphos, March 31, DC Jazz Jam …
March Birthdays: Benny Powell 1; Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Doug Watkins 2; Jimmy Garrison 3; Ricky Ford 4; Wes Montgomery 6; George Coleman 8; Herschel Evans, Ornette Coleman 9; Bix Beiderbecke 10; Leroy Jenkins, Bobby McFerrin 11; Terence Blanchard 13; Quincy Jones 14; Cecil Taylor, Charles Lloyd 15; Tommy Flanagan 16; Nat King Cole 17; Harold Mabern, Charles Thompson 21; George Benson 22; King Pleasure 24; Ben Webster, Sarah Vaughan 27; Thad Jones 28; Michael Brecker 29; Freddie Green 31.
Steve Monroe is a Washington, DC, writer who can be reached at steve@jazzavenues.com and followed at www.twitter.com/jazzavenues.
