"I wanted to do a tribute to Shirley Scott, my mentor and a good friend who was very generous with me in my younger years." That is how powerhouse saxophonist Tim Warfield describes his latest recording, One for Shirley, a warm and loving tribute to the organist who passed away in 2002 due to heart failure brought about by her use of the diet medication, Fen-Phen. Warfield, who is based out of the Philadelphia area,......

When the biggest names in jazz come to D.C., they generally play Blues Alley or the Kennedy Center, choosing the sterility of Georgetown or the concert hall setting and thereby only increasing the separation between jazz and the community from which it originated. But back in jazz's heyday, if you wanted to hear the best jazz in the District, you had to go to U Street. Unfortunately, with the death of Dr. King and......

Dr. Leonard Brown (pictured) is far from a typical academic. An ethnomusicology and music professor at Northeastern University in Boston, Brown holds joint appointments with the school's Music and African American Studies Departments, specializing in the study of African music as it has developed in the western hemisphere. He has also branched out to study the role and function of music in human life. But it is his role outside of the university that brings......

If DJ Rekha's set at the Black Cat in January is any indication, there is an unrequited demand for international dance music in the District. That event not only sold out, but people of all stripes were dancing to the same beat and the crowd reflected one of this city's greatest assets, its cultural and ethnic diversity. One can expect more of the same tomorrow night at Bohemian Caverns, where two of global electronica's most......

"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......

>> Blues Alley's Christmas music extravaganza continues tonight with The Redd Brothers, a group led by vibraphonist Chuck Redd and pianist Robert Redd. Sets are at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are $18 + $12.50 surcharge/minimum. >> If smooth jazz is your thing, head down to the Birchmere tonight to hear Boney James play selections off his latest release, Christmas Present. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show are sold out, but that's what Craigslist......

One need not dig too deep into our city’s jazz scene before coming across the name Thad Wilson. Since coming to D.C. in 1997, Wilson has become a mainstay in the jazz clubs of U Street and beyond by consistently performing with passion, intensity, and consummate artistry in a variety of settings. In addition to his own considerable abilities, his groups feature some of the finest players in the D.C. area. A native of......

FRIDAY: >> Local comic book store Fantom Comics is celebrating the grand opening of their new Union Station store tonight with a party from 6 to 10:30 p.m. They'll be serving up free pizza on the early side and the comedy stylings of the Geek Comedy Tour during the second half of the night. There will also be a trivia contest with $500 gift certificates up for grabs. The party is inside the Union......

This post from DCist Contributor Liz Lawson Mahogany Restaurant presents itself as a place representing the smooth side of the U Street revitalization; one that requires a certain attire for its patrons, like another that was the source of a bit of controversy when it emerged a few years ago. Recently reopened after renovations, Mahogany sits on the street-level floor of Bohemian Caverns, which hosts local jazz nearly every night of the week in a......

Saxophonist Matt Rippetoe is a busy man. A mainstay within the D.C. jazz circuit, Rippetoe plays regularly with several different groups that cover a variety of styles. He has performed at Bohemian Caverns, Blues Alley, Cafe Nema, Jo-Jos, Tryst, Utopia, Columbia Station... basically all the local places. The time has finally arrived for him to take charge as a band leader and this Sunday, June 29th, at 8 p.m., he will celebrate the release of......

We're still getting over the amazing Big Band Jam and next week we'll tell you all about the Kennedy Center's annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival. In the mean time, there's plenty of great jazz to be had in our fair city. >> Trumpet player Sean Jones, a young lion who was recently chosen to be a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, brings his group to Blues Alley. Jones is touring......

FRIDAY: >> This weekend is filled to the brim with events surrounding the 2007 Urban Film Series tour just in time for Black History Month. Dozens of short and feature-length films addressing the black experience are being screened at Regal Cinema Gallery Place, many with panel discussions following. There's a bevy of established and rising talent to see, but our pick for Friday has to be a conversation and book-signing with the Wizard's own center......

DCist is, collectively, having one of those Fridays. You know, one of those Fridays when your boss dumps a bunch of work on your desk and wants it done before you leave for the weekend (the sweet, sweet weekend) and your Internet keeps crapping out so you can't even check your email. The weekend is quickly approaching and we haven't yet had time to scour the best of the city's offerings. But, we think......

Our email list is blowing up this morning with tips to check out this piece in today's New York Times, a feature taking a look at the once again bustling U Street drag. The Times claims it can hear hipsters sneering in the opening paragraph, and a few of our favorite locales are omitted, but they avoid calling the area the U District, Hipster Handbook style, and overall it's a pretty neat little read. NYT......

The first ever Duke Ellington Jazz Festival kicked off last night, and the District is all a buzz with what's in store for the weekend after what we've heard was a thrilling performance by the Dave Brubeck Quartet at the Lincoln Theatre. The rest of the schedule, put together by Dizzy Gillespie's former producer and manager Charles Fishman, looks to be equally goosebump inducing. We can't tell you how many e-mails and comments we've already......

FRIDAY: >> If your faux pas have lately been spiraling out of control, head over tout suite to Politics & Prose. This evening at 7 p.m. Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, will be talking about "Miss Manner's Guide to Excruciatingly Exact Behavior," her newly updated book about modern-day etiquette. >> The Dulles Expo Center gets busy today with the weekend-long Sugarloaf Craft Festival. You can buy everything from well-engineered teddy bears to wood art. Check......

Local blogger Julian Sanchez notes a recent NPR piece by reporter Ben Gilbert talking about Dodgeball. No, not the horrific elementary school gym game whose painful, awkward memories haunt you to this day; Dodgeball is more of a social service, often described as a Friendster for your cell phone. This is how it works: A user sends a text message with his location to Dodgeball, and the server relays the message to the user's list......