>> One of the biggest names in smooth jazz, altoist David Sanborn, begins a five night stint at Blues Alley tonight with daily 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. sets. Tickets are $50 + $12.50 minimum/surcharge. >> Our first must see of the week takes place at Twins Jazz, where the club will feature three ensembles under the direction of local saxophonist Brad Linde. The University of Maryland Jazz Chamber Ensemble will play the first set......

Written by DCist guest contributor Michael Lodico The Washington National Opera’s production of William Bolcom’s operatic adaptation of Arthur Miller’s earthy play (premiered by the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1999 and staged by Frank Galati) shows the company’s commitment to remounting new American operas after their premieres. The Chicago production, now being presented to D.C. area audiences by the WNO, also features three leads from the original production and the two arias added by......

The Mancuso-Suzda Project, an adventurous local avant-garde jazz duo, is currently serving as artist-in-residence at Strathmore. The program selects a different local performer each month and provides educational and performance opportunities in order to cultivate local talent in the fine arts. Previous artists-in-residence include Laura Burhenn of Georgie James, jazz harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet, jazz percussionist Kush Abadey, singer/songwriter LEA, and Celtic harp player Lily Neill. Like so many groups these days, the Mancuso-Suzda Project came......

On Wednesday night, Washington Performing Arts Society opened its fall classical music season with a spectacular concert by the La Scala Philharmonic. Notably it did so not at the Kennedy Center, which has long been the organization's main venue, but at the newer and growing Music Center at Strathmore. In spite of the suburban location, which doubled this disgruntled city dweller's car trip, a VIP box at house left held such distinguished guests as First......

By DCist Contributor Vince Wadhwani of BuyIndie.net Location, location, location. Last year Sticky Fingers occupied the small, cramped space across the street and down the stairs from Lauriol Plaza. While there's no denying the quality of the vegan cookies, the shop itself didn't quite have the required room to operate comfortably. The new occupants, Biagio Fine Chocolate, have done a remarkable job taking what was an unattractive space and turning it into an inviting, seemingly......

Are wine bars the next bistro? Following closely on the heels of Proof and Sonoma, Veritas Wine Bar will be opening next Monday, September 17. The list is largely composed of Euro-style California wines, with over 50 available by the glass starting at $8 and going up to $28. Also available are various red and white flights, chosen by varietal, region or cutesy names like "m&m&m" and "Mick's picks". Three deadly zins, anyone? The web......

>> The Classical Music Agenda will return this Sunday, after hibernating all summer, but there are already a few developments to note this week in local classical news. Robert Shafer is a legend in the local choral music scene, as the long-standing director of the Oratorio Society of Washington, known in recent years as the Washington Chorus. Shafer's particular gift is to inspire a huge group — some 200 singers, none (or few) of them......

In our first installment of Buyin’ Oeno introduced you to a few “need to have” summer wines. Now that we’ve covered a few topics (and the end of summer is quickly approaching), we feel you’re ready to break out and be a little more daring. Therefore, we have come up with a list of some of you not-so-ordinary summer wines. We are always intrigued when we come across a varietal we’ve never heard of or......

You know it's too late for your civil liberties when they've gone and put the Statue of Freedom in a cage. And you thought all those people worried about the PATRIOT Act were alarmists. If you haven't glanced at the top of the Capitol lately, take a gander. Over the past week, workers have constructed scaffolding around the Statue of Freedom—the 19 ½ foot bronze sculpture atop the Capitol Dome—not in preparation for her trip......

>> It's going to be hot, but tonight's Fort Reno lineup will be worth it: Greenland, Statehood and Kitty Hawk will each take the outdoor stage. 7:15 p.m., free. >> Stop by the opening night party of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, at Andalu (1214 18th St, NW) starting at 9:30 p.m. DJ Rich Medina will spin a free set. >> D.C.'s geekiest lit fan-boys will be out in full force both tonight and tomorrow......

The most recent exhibition at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, organized with help from the National Museum of African Art, Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries, is as much a chronicle of history as it is a document for how art records history. Trying to pigeonhole this exhibition into a one category is difficult. It is more than just the fact the exhibition displays more than 260......

This week for Eating In we thought we’d venture a little out of the city, but not too far and still metro accessible, to the ever-expanding area of Chevy Chase. Right off Wisconsin Ave. is Lia's, the little sister to the Chef Geoff’s restaurants. Chef Geoff Tracy's inspiration for Lia’s came from an internship he completed at Galileo’s, combined with a trip to Italy — and decided to open a restaurant that is focused on......

I recently meandered over from the School of Communications, where I teach at American University (disclaimer 1), to the art department, from where I graduated a couple years ago, back when it was still largely a painting program (disclaimer 2) to check it out the MFA Thesis Exhibitions. I'd heard a few accounts already; the word "postmodern" lumped in a few times. But it's easy to be a bit skeptical of a dismissive comment that......

The Weekly Feed was pushed back this week because its regular author was tied up with another task. Thanks to DCist Food staffer Jamie Liu for picking up the column last minute. The Proof is in the Pinot Coming up in May, wine enthusiast Mark Kuller is bringing out some fun little tricks with his wine-centric restaurant, Proof, in Gallery Place. The sexy little enomatic from Italy will be dispensing tasting and full pours of......

This post is by new DCist contributor Matt Pelkey. It’s almost Friday and a drink or two may sound like a great way to decompress. But happy hour shouldn’t always be about forgetting a tough week, so tonight toast to local business and a thriving community instead. Mount Pleasant Main Street, one of ten DC Main Streets programs, is sponsoring a wine tasting this evening from 7 to 9 p.m. at Dos Gringos restaurant,......

> > If we know you, the DCist reader, you are no doubt feverishly caught up in DC's celebration of the life and works of William Shakespeare. Feel like delving deeper? Get on board with Wordfest's Shakespeare Reading Group at Chapters one week from today at 6pm, and get a guided tour of Richard III from University of Connecticut Professor Emeritus Arnold Orza. If you ask us, Richard got mad swift-boated by the Bard, but,......

Tuscany-trained home chef Linda Reck swears her summer acquacotta would not be as delicious had she used Beefsteak tomatoes rather than her favorite Cherokee Purples. In the Tuscan spirit of using local ingredients, Linda believes that this heirloom variety simply tastes better when she uses them as the staple in this classic soup from the Maremma region of Italy. As part of the late-August peak of tomato season, food enthusiasts such as Linda are......

Boo hoo. It turns out Lonny Baxter, the Maryland alum and NBA journeyman who you may remember decided to bust a few caps from his Glock within shouting distance of the White House last week, did so because he was upset that he'd have to spend the next basketball season playing in Italy, far away from friends and family. At least that's what local blogger The Upsate Life quoted from a WJZ.com report on......

By DCist contributor Joelle Seligson Zach Condon, a multi-instrumentalist from Albuquerque, has named his band Beirut. His debut album is called Gulag Orkestar – an invented orchestra of the Soviet slave labor camps – but he doesn't sing in Russian. And though he’s a 20-year-old musician (with underground fame to spare), he didn’t dub himself after a drinking game. Condon’s Southwestern roots are a most unlikely origin for a band where Balkan folksongs and gypsy......

Food incites emotion. Ask a guy to recall his mother’s most delicious dessert or his favorite meal on his last trip to Italy, and he’ll likely have plenty to say. Perhaps because they're food-related, shows on the Food Network conjure similar passions—just read any blog comment on perky Rachael Ray, sultry Giada DeLaurentiis or exuberant Emeril Lagasse. It seems that even when we’re not eating their meals, we often respond to the processes and presentations......

While fans of Italy's soccer squad celebrated their team's World Cup victory, District residents yesterday braced at the news of two brutal killings over the weekend. While this isn't the first time that a weekend has yielded a number of violent deaths, the victims involved remind us how random the violence can often be. As with all of these deaths, our thoughts go out to the friends, family, and neighbors affected. British Politician Murdered in......

Over the weekend the British tabloid The Sun listed the world's top 10 iconic car journeys, with U.S. roads taking five of the slots: 1. Boston to New York 2. Las Vegas to Grand Canyon; 3. Great Ocean Road, Australia; 4. Miami to Key West, Florida; 5. Amalfi Coast, Italy; 6. Pacific Coast Highway; 7. Monaco to Nice; 8. Route 66; 9. London Embankment; 10. The Rockies, Canada.And while we're somewhat miffed at how the......

Today is June 28, and that can only mean one thing. No, we're not talking about Kellie Pickler's birthday, though that naughty little "mink" is probably ordering calamari right now like there's no tomorrow. See, this June 28 marks the 87th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles by German foreign minister Hermann Müller. You remember the Treaty of Versailles from European history class, right? It was when the victorious Allied Powers momentarily......

There are certain critical junctures when the weight of the world is upon a team. Baseball's pennant race, college bowl season, and the final day of group qualifying in soccer are similar situations in which a team must race to the finish, desperately holding off its competitors. In such situations, there are two phrases in sports' lexicon that are inescapable: "win or go home" and "control their own destiny". Not surprisingly, these phrases are......

Ahhh, Thursday. First day of the weekend. And a good day to play hooky and watch Trinidad and Tobago (powered by Howard alum Shaka Hislop) take on England at noon. And the news for the day: Controversy Over Terrorism Funds Continues: Local officials feel they were cheated of valuable federal anti-terrorism funds. Federal officials claim that local requests of funds for anti-terror program were ineffective at best. Who should we believe? The Post is......

Yes, it's been quite some time since we caught up with District politics, especially given that it's an election year. But here are some updates and tidbits. Fenty, Cropp, Fenty, Cropp: For those of you following the District's mayoral contest, the city's political establishment has whipped itself into a frenzy trying to predict whether Linda Cropp or Adrian Fenty will win the Democratic primary in September. Up until recently, the general consensus was that Cropp......

Last week, a Los Angeles Times story touched on an approach to tourism that's gained a foothold in Italy: sight-jogging. Over in Rome, running tourists who sign up for the program might start by doing stairs (as in the Spanish Steps), zoom past the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, head up Capitoline Hill and back down the other side around the Forum and the Colosseum, loop the Circus Maximus, and end, Audrey Hepburn-style, at the......

As Monday's opener with the Czech Republic draws nearer, U.S. Men's National Team Coach Bruce Arena had this to say to reporters yesterday: "you can't believe everything you read in the papers". Although Arena was referring to reports that the Czechs would be without the services of their injury-ridden star players, the statement could well serve as a mantra for his squad throughout this month's World Cup. The U.S. has the misfortune of being......

>> The Washington D.C. Human Trafficking Meetup which tonight hosts freelance photographer Kay Chernush in the Langston Room at Busboys and Poets. Chernush will present photos she took while on assignment for the U.S. State Department in India, Thailand, Italy and Hong Kong in 2005 for their annual Trafficking in Persons Report which "serves as the primary diplomatic tool through which the U.S. Government encourages other countries to help fight forced labor, sexual exploitation, and......

It is the best of times. It is the worst of times. There’s matzoh ball soup and the apple-and-nut goodness of charoset, but then there’s arid sheets of matzoh and denser-than-dense Passover desserts. If you’re a kosher-for-Passover diehard, forget about eating out—that’s a situation filled with chometz (what’s forbidden on Passover) pitfalls. We can remember many times of being halfway through the breadbasket before realizing that Moses wandered through the desert around this time of......