“This is a celebration!,” Thad Wilson (pictured) cheered during his jazz orchestra’s first set on Friday night at Bohemian Caverns. The ensemble was at the club celebrating its 10th anniversary as D.C.’s only regularly working, homegrown big band. Though the music was loose, as this lineup does not perform together regularly, but a note-perfect performance was not necessarily the goal of the night. Wilson’s hope was simply to acknowledge and share ten years of memories as one of D.C.’s few big band leaders.

“Tonight’s a party,” Wilson said during his break on Friday. “This is not a serious night of music, but this music is serious.”

Friday night’s concert featured a full big band comprised of musicians who were playing with Wilson when the project first started, while Saturday night saw the group’s current lineup, a stripped down nine piece ensemble.

“We wanted to expose the folks to where we started,” explained Wilson, “[Saturday’s performance] is where we are now so that will be more of a polished ensemble sound.”