Though it is not yet recognized as such by the jazz audience at large, the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival's organizers have achieved their goals of mounting a world class festival by assembling a roster of top flight talent, which includes Latin jazz legend and festival artistic adviser Paquito D'Rivera (pictured). These jazz greats will grace stages across the city over the course of the nine day festival, which begins on September 9 with a Taiko drumming performance on the Millennium Stage.

This year marks the annual event's third installment and the festival's theme is a celebration of the 90th anniversary of jazz icon John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie's birth. Dizzy's legacy makes an especially appropriate theme for a jazz festival held in D.C. because of his unique stature as the first true jazz ambassador. In 1956, Diz was the first jazz musician to serve as a cultural ambassador for the United States State Department and in that capacity he toured Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Greece, Turkey, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. His musical genius and public service led to numerous awards including the National Medal of the Arts, a Grammy lifetime achievement award and the Kennedy Center Honors.

The driving force behind the festival is its executive producer, Charlie Fishman. A veteran jazz producer, he was Gillespie's personal manager and producer from 1985 until Gillespie’s death in 1993. His experience in the music business is a large part of why such a young festival can attract such an impressive level of talent. "As far as the artists," said Mr. Fishman, "I’ve been lucky because I’ve worked with all of them, so we have access that other festivals in our position might not have."

Image courtesy of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival

Though the festival has grown every year (it has doubled in size since last year) Mr. Fishman realizes that it has been a tough road getting to this point and the job is not done. "To start a jazz festival is not an easy thing. There were some very honorable attempts to start a festival in D.C., but they did not garner the support to become on-going world class festivals. We’ve been a seriously underfunded festival, but it’s a process of growth." The future, however, seems bright for the festival and its fans. Mr. Fishman notes,"Next year is the first year we’re getting the kind of support we need because we are in the D.C. budget and not just eligible for grants. This will certainly move us up the food chain."

The organizers set high aspirations for Duke Fest that include making the music accessible to the broadest possible demographic, stressing the educational aspects of jazz, honoring jazz legends, and enhancing D.C.'s rich jazz legacy. To that end, the festival presents 26 events, only four of which are ticketed. Many of the marquis events will take place on September 14, 15, and 16, so DCist will have a more in-depth preview of those concerts in next week's edition of This Week In Jazz. In the mean time, here is a brief overview of Duke Fest '07.

Ticketed Events

>> On September 10 the festival kicks off in earnest with an opening banquet at the Inter-American Development Bank. Attendees will hear live performances by Paquito D'Rivera and vocalist Nnenna Freelon. Unfortunately, the event is invite only, but fear not jazz lovers, DCist will be there to tell you all about it.

>> Pianist Hank Jones and vocalist Roberta Gambarini will perform an intimate show at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. 7 p.m. $35

>> On Friday, September 14, the Lincoln Theater will host "In The Footsteps of Dizzy," a concert featuring artists who played with Dizzy Gillespie in their formative years. 8 p.m. $25-$35.

>> The Lincoln Theater will also host a memorable evening of music on Saturday, September 15. This year's edition of the National Endowments for the Arts' Jazz Masters concert will feature legendary musicians who played with the great Dizzy Gillespie during the be-bop years. 8 p.m. $25-$35.

Jazz 'n Families Fun Day

In an effort to make the music more accessible to the public-at-large, the festival organizers have a charming set of FREE concerts scheduled for the afternoon of September 15. Not only will the shows feature great music, but the venues will also have activities to introduce jazz to the entire family.

>> At 1:30 p.m. young lion trumpeter Sean Jones leads a trumpet summit with some outstanding local players at the Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Art.

>>The Sitar Center hosts 13-year old wunderkind Tony Madruga at 3 p.m. Artistic adviser Paquito D'Rivera hand picked this youngster for the event.

>> Drummer and local legend Nasar Abadey will perform with his son at 4 p.m. at the Atlas Center.

>> At 6 p.m., the Millennium Stage hosts the dance of Princess Mhoon Cooper.

International Jazz Showcase

Throughout the week, the Millennium Stage will feature the best of international jazz with daily 6 p.m. performances. Free and open to all.

Jazz in the 'Hoods

In order to get D.C. residents to see jazz in their own neighborhoods, Duke Fest invited local clubs to participate in the festival. As far as we can tell, the clubs have not altered their schedules for the festival, but the Jazz in the 'Hoods schedule is a handy guide to regular shows at D.C.'s jazz clubs. Notable out-of-town performers include guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and saxophonist Kenny Garrett, who will both be performing at Blues Alley.

Jazz on the Mall

This concert, entitled "To Diz, With Love," and held on Sunday, September 16 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Sylvan Theater, is the center piece of the festival. Many of the performers at the festival's ticketed events will be on hand along with some added acts and special guests. Notable performers include Flora Purim with Airto Moreira and the United Nations Jazz Orchestra.

Other Notable Events

>> In order to spread the gospel of jazz, the organizers made it a point to give local music students the opportunity to interact with festival performers. To that end, there will be student concerts and clinics held throughout the week at local high schools and universities. See the festival schedule for more information.

>> Thursday, September 13 at 7 p.m., the Library of Congress will hold a panel discussion entitled "Dizzy on Film."

>> The first discussion of its kind, appropriate considering Duke Ellington's and Dizzy's roles as cultural ambassadors, this year's festival will host a forum on the role of jazz in international diplomacy. The panel will meet at Lindner Commons at GWU on September 17 at 3 p.m.

>> That same night, the idea of jazz and diplomacy will be demonstrated through music as Paquito teams up with a group of musicians who spent their early careers on the other side of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. The 7:30 p.m. show is free and will take place at Cohen Auditorium in the Voice of America Building. The concert is a tribute to Willis Conover, the VOA disc jockey who brought jazz to people around the world through his VOA jazz program.

The Duke Ellington Jazz Festival runs from September 9-17. A full schedule is available here. Tickets to the premium events are available here. Tickets to the seated free events will be distributed at the door approximately one hour before show time.