Rudresh Mahanthappa.

Anyone who follows DCist’s jazz coverage knows that our fair city has a rich heritage and a vibrant scene. The current crop of local artists that perform regularly in the city’s clubs are an eclectic group, dedicated to nurturing D.C.’s jazz reputation through sheer talent mixed with a strong sense of community. The local arts community also reflects the city at-large, and the fact that Washington is the nation’s capital also colors the music that comes out of this town.

“The jazz DNA in D.C. is comprised of an entire different scene than any city I’ve ever been in,” said Harry Schnipper, who grew up in the District and is now Blues Alley‘s Executive Director. “It’s college town, it’s a diplomatic town, and it’s also a military town with all the big band jazz ensembles.”

While not limited to these categories, D.C.’s jazz tradition does benefit from all of them. Of the local universities, Howard, in particular, has long been a source of local talent, as have the service bands. Area presenters are also quick to take advantage of Washington’s stature as an international city, and Exhibit A is the typical lineup of the DC Jazz Festival. In Schnipper’s case, he has for the past decade organized jazz series that focus on a particular country or region of the world.

“For the first time in 100 years, America is importing jazz instead of exporting it,” said Schnipper. “I just started calling up embassies and taking meetings with cultural attachés and said, ‘I know there are jazz artists in fill-in-the-blank country,’ we could do a week long series.”

In the past, Schnipper has organized events focused around artists from the EU, the Nordic countries, Isreal, France, the Czech Republic and Latin America, among others. Monday marks the start of the Indian jazz series at Blues Alley. As with prior events, the embassy is a co-presenter. While participation from embassies has varied in the past, Schnipper gives the cultural staff great leeway as far as choosing musicians. Generally, deciding factors include musician availability, whether the embassy will provide any underwriting and whether the musicians live in the United States or abroad. With respect to the Indian jazz series, all of the groups are based in this country.

“There’s not really any Indian jazz,” Schnipper explained. “There are Indian musicians who are amazing musicians and who play jazz music.”

Sachal Vasandani.

Schnipper aims for a mix of instrumentation with each series, and this one is no different. The week will kick off with vocalist Sachal Vasandani, who has been making waves over the past couple of years. On Tuesday, area guitarist Sanjay Mishra will perform and New York based guitarist Rez Abbasi will lead his trio on Wednesday. Celebrated saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa will conclude the series with two nights of performances on Thursday and Friday in support of his latest release, Samdhi.

Schnipper usually plans his international series for January, but there have been exceptions. In 2012, Blues Alley will host the Indian jazz series as well as a Japanese jazz series in April to commemorate the centennial of Japan’s gift of 3000 cherry blossom trees to the United States. He also has his eyes set on future events that will feature South Africa and Korea, both countries with rich cultures.

“Jazzers are sponges,” said Schnipper. “You have musicians coming from abroad and studying at major conservatories, and they bring their folk music with them.”

The Indian Jazz Series at Blues Alley begins on Monday, January 16, 2012. Visit the club’s web site for full schedule and ticketing information.