The 2007 edition of The Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, D.C.’s largest music festival, got off to a glowing start with last night’s opening gala, held at the Inter-American Development Bank. The show was a bit delayed due to some technical difficulties with the piano, but the organizers wisely chose to hold the curtain in order to fix the problem because, as festival executive producer Charlie Fishman told the audience, “If the musicians be happy, then you be happy.”

The musicians were definitely happy and used the opportunity to pay homage to the festival’s namesake and to Dizzy Gillespie, whose legacy is the theme of this year’s celebration. The invite-only audience of approximately 300 people, which was refreshingly diverse for an event of this nature, was treated to three hours of amazing music that reflected the many faces of jazz, and set the tone for what is sure to be a memorable week of music.

One of the festival’s goals is to recognize the city’s rich jazz tradition, and so there could be no better opener for the concert than D.C.’s own Davey Yarborough (pictured). Sporting his trademark dreadlocks, Yarborough, jazz director at the Duke Ellington High School for the Perfoming Arts, visited the land of Ellingtonia during his half hour set. With the help of a group of fine local musicians that included drummer Francis Thompson, pianist Jon Ozment, bassist Wes Biles, and trumpeter Chris Will, Yarborough charged through a set of traditional acoustic jazz that included impressive renditions of “Prelude to a Kiss” and a Latin-ized arrangement of “Cottontail.” The standout of the group was pianist Ozment, whose playing truly sparkled.

Image of Yarborough by Sharon Farmer; taken from the Washington Jazz Arts Institute website