When Giovanni Russonello and Luke Stewart first joined forces in 2010, they had a simple mission, “to promote D.C.’s vibrant jazz scene by expanding its audience,” as Russonello put it in a recent interview with DCist. Fulfilling this goal started with an impressively comprehensive website, CapitalBop, and then quickly included the D.C. Jazz Loft, a monthly DIY concert series at in which each show features three very different bands performing in succession.
And people have started to take notice. WaPo finally decided to give the local jazz scene a decent amount of ink (though we here at DCist are proud to have done so over a year ago), and last year CapitalBop partnered with the D.C. Jazz Festival to produce a series of performances at alternative venues around town. That partnership continues this year with CapitalBop presenting three D.C. Jazz Loft shows that boast some impressive talent.
“The crowd response was tremendous, and we—both CapitalBop and the D.C. Jazz Festival—were very happy with the age and ethnic diversity we were able to achieve,” Russonello said of the 2011 festival.
Russonello and Stewart aimed high for this year’s festival, and were able to draw some of their favorite musicians. The success they had early on was surprising to them, but might indicate a hunger among younger music fans who are looking for something different, and among musicians who are looking for an inquisitive audience.
“What astounded me last year was how willing artists were to come play a show for us, even before we had much regional or national credibility,” Russonello said.
The jazz lofts begin tonight at The Dunes with Christie Dashiell, who made waves singing with Howard University’s Afro Blue on The Sing-Off last year, opening for a 9-piece ensemble led by composer/bass clarinetist Todd Marcus. Tomorrow’s show at The Fridge hosts free jazz super group Tarbaby, comprised of pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits, along with Corner Store, whose leader, bassist Kris Funn, describes its music as “spirituals for the new millennium.”
The highlight of this year’s programming, which is also sure to be a highlight of the entire ten day festival, is the MegaLoft, an all-day happening taking place on June 9. The music will include a trio with saxophonist Elijah Balbed, bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Kush Abadey, drummer Lenny Robinson‘s MadCurious, and an all-star student ensemble led by saxophonist Paul Carr. They will be warming the stage for pianist Marc Cary‘s Cosmic Indigenous, a band that blends West African sounds, electronic dance music, Indian rhythms and scales, go-go and post-bop. In addition to the bands, the MegaLoft will include a pop-up shop, art gallery, film screening, a panel discussion on the intersection of jazz and hip-hop, as well as food and drink by Taste of D.C.
“We decided that in order to fulfill our mission, we would need to prove that jazz is a living, breathing, exciting art form that has lots of relevance to the present-day arts and culture world,” Russonello explained. “It isn’t a siloed, stagnated music that can’t interact with other modes of expression.”
Russonello noted that CapitalBop’s online presence is seeing concomitant growth with its success in producing live events. The D.C. Jazz Lofts will probably increase in frequency in coming months and the principals have plans to expand coverage on the website. With all that’s happening, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about CapitalBop’s prospects.
“It’s about providing as many points of entry as possible and keeping things fresh as a way of encouraging people to dive into the music deeply,” said Russonello.
Full scheduling and ticketing information about CapitalBop’s D.C. Jazz Loft series at the D.C. Jazz Festival is available here. See DCist’s DCJF preview for a full rundown of the festival.
