Though it is not yet recognized as such by the jazz audience at large, the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival‘s organizers have achieved their goals of mounting a world class festival by assembling a roster of top flight talent, which includes Latin jazz legend and festival artistic adviser Paquito D’Rivera (pictured). These jazz greats will grace stages across the city over the course of the nine day festival, which begins on September 9 with a Taiko drumming performance on the Millennium Stage.

This year marks the annual event’s third installment and the festival’s theme is a celebration of the 90th anniversary of jazz icon John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie‘s birth. Dizzy’s legacy makes an especially appropriate theme for a jazz festival held in D.C. because of his unique stature as the first true jazz ambassador. In 1956, Diz was the first jazz musician to serve as a cultural ambassador for the United States State Department and in that capacity he toured Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Greece, Turkey, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. His musical genius and public service led to numerous awards including the National Medal of the Arts, a Grammy lifetime achievement award and the Kennedy Center Honors.

The driving force behind the festival is its executive producer, Charlie Fishman. A veteran jazz producer, he was Gillespie’s personal manager and producer from 1985 until Gillespie’s death in 1993. His experience in the music business is a large part of why such a young festival can attract such an impressive level of talent. “As far as the artists,” said Mr. Fishman, “I’ve been lucky because I’ve worked with all of them, so we have access that other festivals in our position might not have.”

Image courtesy of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival