In the '90s, Orrin Evans was among a crop of young lions that burst onto the scene. Now a veteran, he is making changes to his sound that you'll see this weekend at Bohemian Caverns. more ›

Jason Kao Hwang's quartet, EDGE, draws from free and traditional jazz, East Asian influences and Hwang's upbringing as a classically trained violinist. Here's a preview of the band's Sunday evening performance at Bohemian Caverns. more ›

Saxophonist Tim Berne, a veteran of New York's experimental jazz scene, will be leading his band, Snakeoil, on Sunday at Bohemian Caverns. more ›

NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Cobb is best known for his playing on Miles Davis's seminal Kind of Blue album. DCist interviewed the native Washingtonian about his career and upcoming shows this weekend at Bohemian Caverns. more ›

Woodwind artist Bennie Maupin made his name during fusion's early days, playing on Miles Davis's seminal Bitches Brew and with Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi. His current quartet is bringing its nuanced sound to Bohemian Caverns this weekend. more ›

Whether it's playing in front of 20,000 people with pop superstar Beyoncé, or playing a small jazz club or teaching in the country's best music programs, saxophonist Tia Fuller does it all. more ›

Colombian jazz harpist Edmar Castaneda has a wholly original and infectious sound. He will be leading his quartet this Friday and Saturday at Bohemian Caverns. more ›

Many agree that "classical" music, as it has existed for at least the past century, is endangered. Founded in 2003, the PostClassical Ensemble is trying to modernize the art form. more ›

With over 250 years of collective experience, including over 1,000 recordings, The Cookers is a band that embodies hard bop and post-bop tradition. The band is in town this weekend to perform at Bohemian Caverns. more ›

Over the course of dozens of interviews with many of the District's most talented jazz artists, it becomes clear that one attribute that separates D.C.'s jazz scene from those of other cities is the sense of community among the musicians. On Tuesday night, one of those musicians, saxophonist Elijah Jamal Balbed, is tapping into that community to help with his 15-year-old sister's medical care. more ›

DCist's preview of the legendary Heath Brothers, saxophonist Jimmy and drummer Albert, who will perform this weekend at the historic Bohemian Caverns as part of the on-going DC Jazz Festival. more ›

Malika Zarra's story echoes those of so many of us who share the immigrant's experience. Originally from a village in southern Morocco, Zarra's family moved to France, where she was forced to live a hyphenated existence. For some, having to adapt to a new culture while maintaining ancestral ties can be stifling. Many, however, see the possibilities that lie in drawing from the best of both worlds and do not see it as an either/or proposition, but rather seek an amalgamation of old and new as a distinct cultural identity. more ›

While the Great American Songbook should always be cherished as some of the finest music ever written, few things are more frustrating to the dedicated jazz listener than another jazz vocalist paying tribute to Ella, Billie, Sarah or any of the other peerless singers of yesteryear. Thankfully, there are plenty of musicians out there doing their own thing, though not always receiving the credit they deserve. Gretchen Parlato, a rising artist who most certainly belongs on this list of seekers, offered her perspective during a recent interview with DCist. more ›

Over the past decade, an exciting scene has emerged in New York that lies at the intersection of jazz, hip-hop and neo-soul. A group of highly trained musicians have come together to form a new sound, rooted very much in urban African-American culture, but willing to embrace influences from any and all sources. Players like Marcus Strickland, Stefon Harris and Casey Benjamin are just a few of the names that come up time and again with respect to this sound. These artists are at home no matter what the setting, whether its in a jazz club playing hard-nosed post-bop or backing some of the biggest MCs and soul divas of the day. At the center of this storm is keyboardist Robert Glasper, who will be leading a cohort of these young lions this weekend at Bohemian Caverns. more ›

Speaking with jazz artists who have spent decades in the scene is always a pleasure. Their knowledge of the music is somewhat intimidating, but that is almost always offset by enthusiasm and a willingess to share that wisdom. Charles McPherson is such an artist. An under-recognized talent whose name does not come up on most lists of great alto players, the 72-year old alto saxophonist is highly respected among his peers as a musician's musician. more ›

Over the past ten years or so, a circle of musicians has coalesced in New York, and they are making some of the most refreshing music in what is already an incredibly fertile period in jazz. This crew, which rapper Mos Def has deftly incorporated into his hip-hop explorations, includes artists like keyboardists Robert Glasper and Marc Carey, and vibraphonist Stefon Harris. Their music is rooted in the traditions of African-American jazz, but incorporate more contemporary soul and R&B rhythms, as well as textural synthesizer sounds and electronics. more ›

A gem of the local jazz scene can be found on Monday nights at Bohemian Caverns, when the historic club hosts its house band, the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra. The BCJO boasts a rotating cast of the area's finest talent. Every week, casual jazz fans and aficionados alike can enjoy a diverse repertoire from the 17-piece ensemble, ranging from the big band classics of Ellington and Basie to original compositions by members of the group. Not bad for a mere $7 cover. more ›

The saxophone trio seems to be all the rage lately. Not a new phenomenon, the tradition stretches back to the great Sonny Rollins and his seminal The Freedom Suite and extends to the wonderful trio work of Branford Marsalis, along with numerous others. Recently, we've profiled the sax/bass/drums lineup of both Joshua Redman and J.D. Allen. This week alone, Jerome Sabbagh's trio will play the Katzen Arts Center, and Marcus Strickland will make a stop at Bohemian Caverns with his group. more ›

The sax/bass/drums trio format is one of the most intriguing in jazz. Without a chordal instrument, such as a guitar or piano, each remaining instrumentalist is given extra room to fill up that aural space, but must at the same time improvise in a way that gives the audience some clues as to the song's structure. So with the extra freedom comes the responsibility of maintaining some framework that the harmony instrument would normally provide. Last week, we saw Joshua Redman's trio excel with this lineup. Tonight and tomorrow, area fans who missed that show will get a chance to see up-and-coming talents explore this avenue of expression, in the intimate setting of the historic Bohemian Caverns. more ›

Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Lee Konitz, Ella Fitzgerald, and Benny Golson are just a few of the 114 musicians to whom the National Endowment for the Arts has conferred the title of Jazz Master. The award, which is only given to living musicians, is the nation's highest honor in the great American art form. Not surprisingly, most of the names on this prestigious list are horn players or vocalists, with rhythm section players getting the short end of the stick. more ›

Saxophonist Tim Warfield has been a familiar face in the District for 20 years, having spent two years at Howard University and performing regularly here ever since. His break came in 1991, when he was featured on Tough Young Tenors, a compilation of young tenor saxophonists that was chosen as one of that year's top ten jazz recordings by The New York Times. Also in '91, Warfield placed third in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, tying Chris Potter and placing behind Joshua Redman. Not bad company. more ›

Woodwind artist Bobby Muncy has become a fixture on the local jazz scene over the past several years, playing with no fewer than six groups. These collaborations range from his own band, to avant-garde explorations with guitarist Anthony Pirog (***), and the in-your-face grooves of Three Stars alum Will Rast's Funk Ark. Muncy will step into the spotlight on Sunday and celebrate the release of his own new album, On the Outside Looking In, with an event at the historic Bohemian Caverns. more ›

Every so often, there are performances that we know are going to be special even before a single note is played, and that was exactly the case at last night's early set at Bohemian Caverns. The historic club is well on its way to becoming the District's best jazz spot, so it's only fitting that it play home for three nights to jazz legend Ron Carter, who has been at the music's vanguard through five decades. more ›

Let's face it. The main draw for this past weekend's shows at Bohemian Caverns was Roberta Flack. The legendary vocalist, who got her start here in the District, was not even the featured artist on the bill. Taking the mic prior to the start of Sunday night's early set, with her characteristic regal presence, Flack announced that she would not be performing that evening, and would only introduce her godson and protégé, the "Piano Prince of New Orleans," headliner Davell Crawford. more ›

"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." more ›

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 the riots that followed, U Street's jazz scene burned along with the rest of the once vibrant community. Over the past decade, things have changed and U Street is once again abuzz with the sound of live jazz. One club above all reflects the ups and downs of U Street as a whole, and that club is Bohemian Caverns. more ›

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. more ›

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 respected practitioners, Cheb i Sabbah (pictured right) and Janaka Selekta (pictured below), will be performing at Līv in an event dubbed Electroganic, whose proceeds will benefit Race Against Domestic Violence. more ›

"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. more ›

>> 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. more ›