Phindile Mkhize as Rafiki in that little-show-that-could, The Lion King. Photo by Joan Marcus. Drama lovers, a word: Here in the lavishly appointed ahr-eee Theater cubicle of DCist’s state-of-the-art underground headquarters, we have what you call an ethos. For us, casting arbitrary, semi-informed judgment on the bustling stage traffic of Our Nation’s Capitol is about a lot more than just getting free tickets to the latest hot offering from reliable companies like Catalyst or......

Bobby McFerrinThe show opened with a couple dozen or so sprightly young women taking the stage, dressed in traditional eastern European folk garb. Their conductor, also in costume, raised his hands, signaled the opening downbeat, and out came the sound of serenity. Their voices blended into a rich harmony that recalled the music of cloisters and other forms of early European classical music. The ensemble was Jitro, a celebrated girls choir hailing from the Czech......

While the Kennedy Center's annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival should be applauded for honoring the women of this great American art form, it is a shame that it is even necessary. While artists such as the festival's namesake and a host of others have made major contributions to jazz, the fact of the matter is that this music is still heavily male dominated. When asked how she viewed the festival, drummer par......

From the first sparkling notes of his intro to Luiz Bonfá's "Manha De Carnaval", originally recorded for the soundtrack to the classic film, Orfeu Negro ("Black Orpheus"), it was clear that Kenny Barron is a master pianist who plays with soul, grace, wit, and technique. His first set on Saturday at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater saw him play 90 minutes of polished jazz that was pleasing to the ear, but there was something missing.......

After having toured and recorded for over a decade, Robert Cray had a breakthrough with his 1986 release, Strong Persuader, which included his signature tune, "Smoking Gun". Though the subject of criticism in those early days because of his willingness to embrace contemporary production techniques and incorporate soul and rock elements into his version of the blues, Cray's recorded output over 30 plus years on the scene and continuous touring around the world prove that......

Very few jazz musicians have attained the same stature and respect as Sonny Rollins, and even fewer of his generation are still around to endow us with their knowledge and experience. Rollins's resume reads like a "Who's Who" of the modern jazz era. He cut his teeth as a teenager, recording with trombonist J.J. Johnson and Bud Powell, an archetype for jazz pianists. Rollins later had stints with the one and only Miles Davis, as......

You've heard "Take Five", whether you know it or not. One the most famous melodies in all of jazz, it has been used to sell cars, appeared on movie soundtracks, and has been covered more times than one can count. All of this still doesn't stop Dave Brubeck (pictured right), who did not write the tune (that accolade goes to altoist Paul Desmond), from using it to close every one of his performances. One would......

Carlos Álvarez as Rigoletto, Washington National Opera, 2008, photo by Karin CooperRigoletto, premiered at Venice's Teatro La Fenice in 1851, is generally named as the first instance of Giuseppe Verdi's mature compositional voice. In terms of dramatic cohesion and musical sophistication, it is light years ahead of Ernani, an opera from 1844 with a remarkably similar background (the same librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, adapted a play by Victor Hugo for both operas, and both......

There are dozens of galleries and performance spaces in the Washington, D.C. area, but few actually allow you to observe as an original work is created each night. In performances of Connect Transfer by Shen Wei Dance Arts in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall this weekend, twelve dancers will create a new work each evening with “live action painting” using varying colors of tempura paint on a white canvas. Fusing dance, music, and visual art,......

Winard Harper is a local boy done good, and it's always a pleasure to see musicians come back to perform to a hometown crowd. The 46 year-old drummer will be doing just that as he leads his wonderful sextet through two sets tomorrow night at the Kennedy Center. A son of Baltimore, Harper made his way to the District, where he cut his teeth with studies at Howard University, and by playing with some of......

Many artists have claimed to merge jazz with hip-hop and R&B, but most often this music ends up being little more than an MC rapping over a drum machine layered with sampled acoustic bass and horn lines (think Us3's "Cantaloop", or "Rebirth of Slick" by Digable Planets). While these efforts maintain the solid groove of hip-hop, they ignore the improvisational elements and harmonic sophistication that is the essence of jazz. However, there seems to be......

The 5th Annual Congressional Blues Festival has been announced, and will take place on Wednesday, April 23 at the Kennedy Center's South Plaza. This year's festival lineup includes the stellar Robert Cray (pictured), Elvin Bishop, Mudcat, the duo of Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, and others. The festival is a free event, but tickets are limited and are available through a lottery system on the festival's website. Lottery registration begins Monday, March 10 at......

Last night kicked off the Kennedy Center's August Wilson's 20th Century, with the premiere of Gem of the Ocean. The Center is staging all ten of the plays of Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle, in chronological order, until April 6. Wilson's a big deal playwright; after his death in 2005, he became the only African-American playwright to have a Broadway theater named after him. The Pittsburgh cycle ambitiously sets out to capture a portrait of the black......

Some would argue that jazz lost a certain something when it decided to leave dance behind and evolve a more sophisticated and purely art driven ethos. Because jazz and dance only co-exist in more formal choreographed settings such as modern dance, yesterday's sold-out performance at the Kennedy Center by tap dancer extraordinaire Savion Glover (pictured) and the McCoy Tyner Trio was a refreshing departure from the average jazz concert hall experience. From a musical standpoint,......

In the eyes of a Westerner, all those things that make the Japanese culture so intriguing -- the mastery of complex technologies, the embrace of natural elements and environmental sustainability, the obsession over all things "cute" -- are on display in interactive exhibits throughout the Kennedy Center in Japan! Culture + Hyperculture. Filling the inside halls and spilling over to the exterior grounds and even the parking garage, the exhibition gives us a taste of......

Dawn Upshaw gave a sold-out recital on Wednesday night in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, as part of the Fortas Chamber Music series. The celebrated American soprano (pictured), who was diagnosed with breast cancer late in 2006, has recovered from aggressive treatment and returned to performing. The recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant this past fall, Upshaw is beloved by listeners for her radiant voice and intensely dramatic style of singing. Addressing the audience......

The legendary Kirov Ballet company is back at the Kennedy Center for a seven-performance engagement of La Bayadère. This 1941 three-act Soviet version of choreographer Marius Petipa's classic ballet was performed flawlessly by the company on opening night Tuesday. The ballet is set in India, and this production's set and costumes are exotic, particularly the jewel-encrusted belly-baring costumes of some of the ballerinas. The company makes a distinct effort to make the story come......

Last summer, keyboardist Cyrus Chestnut (pictured) came to the area and gave a memorable performance as part of Cassandra Wilson's stellar band. On Saturday, he returned to the Kennedy Center's Family Theater as a bandleader for the second installment of Sanctified Swing, a program designed to connect contemporary jazz with its roots in the African American church. This program was strong in concept, but the staid Kennedy Center audience didn't mesh well with the spiritual......

While there are some great shows coming up in January, this week is still subject to holiday doldrums. Here are a few shows to check out. >> Tomorrow, vocalist/pianist Mose Allison comes to Blues Alley to begin a four night stand with daily 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. sets. It is common for touring jazz acts to hire local rhythm sections, and concert goers will be treated to two of D.C.'s finest in bassist Tommy......

>> The Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance isn't anywhere nearly as embarrassing as Riverdance and its ilk -- think real jigs without the terrible music and costumes. Accompanied tonight on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage by traditional Irish musicians Billy McCominskey, Zan McLeon and Jim Eagan. Free, 6 p.m. >> Three Stars alums The Beanstalk Library are playing the Black Cat's backstage, with John Wayne Hero. 9 p.m., $8. >> It's a little......

MONDAY >> It wasn't too far from here -- just a couple hours south in Midlothian, VA, where Aimee Mann got her start. Now the guitar playing song weaver is a bonafide modern music legend. She's treating The Birchmere to her 2nd Annual Christmas Show, and it's not something you should miss. $45.50, 7:30 p.m. >> Roofwalkers (pictured), the band formerly known as Pagoda, are treating the Galaxy Hut crowd to an evening of......

At this point in December, holiday concerts and Handel's Messiah have completely hijacked the classical music schedule. Here are a few other events, not all of which avoid the spirit of the season. After this post, the Classical Music Agenda will take its end-of-the-year hiatus, to return in the New Year. >> On Tuesday, the final concert sponsored by Washington Performing Arts Society this calendar year features young violist Jennifer Stumm and Finghin Collins at......

The annual visit of the Mariinsky Theater's traveling opera troupe from St. Petersburg came a little early this year. The themes that unite the Kennedy Center double-bill of Verdi's Otello and Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades are self-destructive obsessions and tenor heroes who become villains. Who better to perform The Queen of Spades than the Mariinsky Theater, which hosted the world premiere of The Queen of Spades on December 19, 1890? The opera is thoroughly Russian,......

FRIDAY: >> Bay Area songstress Goapele’s (pictured) musical background is almost as diverse as her ethnic background. Born to a South African political exile father and a mother whose parents survived the Holocaust, she studied at the Berklee College of Music and later would form musical partnerships with the likes of hip-hop acts like the Hieroglyphics crew and E-40. However her 2005 release, Change It All, established her as especially talented when it comes to......

In all my time doing Photo of the Day, I don't think I've ever seen a picture of the outside of the U.S. Botanic Gardens, like this one by mosley.brian. Usually a lovely reflective night shot like this is the Kennedy Center, but we've been happy to see quite a few of our photographers head towards the gardens once the weather turns cold. It's open all year long and a fantastic way to get......

>> Tonight, the Alliance Francaise and Twins Jazz present the Dupont T quartet, a group led by bassist Hubert Dupont, a major player in the jazz scene in Paris. Tickets to the 8 and 10:30 p.m. sets are $20. Discounted tickets are available to Alliance members. >> Marshall Allen (pictured) is a long-time member of the influential avant-garde outfit, the Sun Ra Arkestra. Tonight, Allen brings his own group to George Washington Univ, Phillips Hall,......

The swell of holiday concerts and Messiah and Nutcracker performances has reached a deafening level this week. Still, there are some excellent concerts to hear, if you just need to get away from the tinselly, Santa-hatted madness. HEADLINES: >> Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero will give a nearly sold-out Washington Performing Arts Society recital on Saturday (December 15, 2 p.m.), Sidney Harman Hall. This new downtown venue, if an article in The Economist is to be......

For dance lovers looking to get into the holiday spirit, The Nutcracker is a must at this time of year. Thankfully, the Washington D.C. area has numerous performances of the beloved ballet from which to choose. While there’s over a dozen performances ranging in size from huge ballet troupes to small dance studios, here's a few that stand out among the rest. American Ballet Theater: Few companies can compete with the size and talents of......

Trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard (pictured right) is a friend to D.C. The New Orleans native chose Blues Alley as the spot to release his latest CD, A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina). Though he is a celebrated bandleader and performer, he has also been quietly making his mark in the film world as Spike Lee's chief musical collaborator. Tomorrow at 8 p.m., the Kennedy Center will host Terence Blanchard for what......

>> It's the first night of Hanukkah, so if you're not celebrating with family and friends at home, consider catching the Sinai Mountain Boys, a Maryland combo that melds the speedy strumming and twanging of bluegrass with Orthodox Jewish melodies. They'll be offering an hour of unique sounds for free beginning at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. >> The Washington Jewish Film Festival presents Diane Crespo and Stefan Schaefer's Arranged, the......