Vocalist Gregory Porter performs on Sunday and Monday at The Howard Theatre. >> Steven Abshire spent many years playing guitar for The Navy Commodores, the U.S. Navy’s premiere jazz ensemble. He will pay tribute to the late Dick Morgan, an elder statesman of the D.C. jazz community, tonight on the Millennium Stage. 6 p.m. Free.
>> This month, the Mansion at Strathmore is hosting a series of performances by alumni of its Artist-in-Residence program. Tonight’s concert features Lena Seikaly, who stands among the area’s most appreciated vocalists. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $15.30-$17.
>> It’s hard to argue with anyone who says that Allyn Johnson is the best pianist that the DMV has to offer. He is a world class player, composer and educator who infuses his deep knowledge of the jazz idiom with a strong sense of spirituality and wit. Johnson leads a trio tonight at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club. 8 p.m. Tickets $10 plus minimum and surcharge.
>> Drummer Abinnet Berhanu leads his band through 8 and 10 p.m. sets tonight at Twins Jazz. He has assembled some of the area’s best to join him, including Allyn Johnson on piano, Herman Burney, Jr. on bass and saxophonist Marcus Tenney. Tickets $10 plus minimum and surcharge.
>> A minute has passed since percussionist Ravish Momin and his group, Tarana, have paid a visit to the area. The latest version of the group includes trombonist Rick Parker. Both musicians create genre-blending soundscapes through their use of live loops and electronics. Tarana will be at the Bossa Bistro & Lounge tonight along with opener, The Silent Note. 9 p.m. doors. Tickets $5.
>> The Feedel Band is a local group that blends jazz with Ethiopian music to create a new style that it dubs EthioJazz. The band will perform on Thursday at the Millennium Stage. 6 p.m. Free.
>> On Thursday, the Back Alley Theater hosts the launch of JUNK!, a new experiment in presenting bills that combine acts from the punk, jazz, and hip-hop genres. Tomorrow’s show includes the punk band Peoples Drug, a jazz trio led by guitarist Ross Hammond and the experimental hip-hop of Black Saturn. 7 p.m. doors. Tickets $10.
>> Sasha Elliot is a native Washingtonian who spent ten years working for Columbia and Epic Records before returning to the area to re-start his performing career. He is also currently the Instrumental Music Director at Georgetown Day School. Elliot’s sextet will perform 8 and 10 p.m. sets on Thursday at Twins Jazz. Tickets $10 plus minimum and surcharge.
>> A trio of local heavyweights will play Dukem Jazz on Thursday. Keyboardist Federico Gonzalez Peña will lead a group featuring his longtime collaborator Sean “The Rick” Rickman on drums and world-class bassist Tarus Mateen. This is a show not to be missed if you’re a fan of the local music scene. 9 p.m. No cover.
>> Weekend Jazz at the Loews Madison Hotel features Trio Caliente on Thursday (6 to 9 p.m.), vibraphonist Chuck Redd on Friday (8 to 11 p.m.) and Lena Seikaly on Saturday (8 to 11 p.m.). No cover.
>> Jazz Night in Southwest hosts some of D.C.’s favorite female vocalists on Friday in a tribute concert to one of the city’s jazz matriarchs, the great Shirley Horn. 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets $5.
>> SFJAZZ is among the country’s most important non-profit jazz institutions and its resident ensemble, the SFJAZZ Collective, assembles some of the finest musicians in the world. Every year, the group meets and develops a repertoire built around a particular artist and then tours with that program. This year’s band pays tribute to the great saxophonist, Joe Henderson, and includes saxophonists Miguel Zenon and David Sanchez, Baltimore native and vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and others. The band plays the Kennedy Center on Friday. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. sets. Tickets $32.
>> Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica performs global jazz and exotic chamber music with world-music flavors sourced from Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, and Latin America. The vibraphone-based group plays 8 and 10 p.m. sets at Bohemian Caverns on Friday. Tickets $20.
>> Jeff Antoniuk is one of the first area jazz musicians we featured here on DCist. He will lead his band, The Jazz Update, on Friday and Saturday at Twins Jazz. 8 and 10 p.m. sets. Tickets $15 plus minimum and surcharge.
>> Saxophonist Craig Handy has played with Art Blakey, Roy Haynes and a number of other greats. He leads a new band on Saturday at the Kennedy Center that will perform the works of organist Jimmy Smith in a New Orleans style. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. sets. Tickets $32.
>> Andrey Makarevich is the founder of Time Machine, one of the first rock groups to gain popularity in the former Soviet Union. His outspoken criticism of the current Russian government’s actions in Ukraine has led to his falling out of favor with the regime. He is currently touring with Yiddish Jazz, an ensemble comprised of respected jazz musicians and vocalists, in which Makarevich ties together jazz with the Klezmer tradition. Yiddish Jazz will be at Lisner Auditorium on Sunday for a 7 p.m. show. Tickets $46-$86.
>> Bassist Christian McBride was among a cohort of young jazz musicians who took the national scene by storm in the early ’90s. He has since branched out from straight-ahead jazz, but returns to his roots on Out Here, his latest album that features an acoustic piano trio. The band will play material from the new recording on Saturday and Sunday at Bohemian Caverns. 8 and 10 p.m. sets. Tickets $28 in advance/$33 at the door.
>> The Sundays @ 7 Series moves to Union Arts this week and hosts a duo with pianist Angelica Sanchez and guitarist Omar Tamez. Both are part of Wadada Leo Smith‘s ensembles and are both pushing the boundaries of improvisational music. 7 and 8:30 p.m. sets. Tickets $15.
>> Along with Hugh Masekela, pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim came to personify South African jazz. Now 80, this bona fide master continues to tour and will be at The Clarice on the University of Maryland campus this Sunday for a 7 p.m. show. Tickets $10-$25.
>> Percussionist Sammy Figueroa has played with a who’s who of greats, ranging from Sonny Rollins to Miles Davis to David Bowie. On his latest album, Talisman, he has teamed up with Brazilian vocalist Glaucia Nasser, and the two will co-lead their group on Sunday at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25 plus minimum and surcharge.
>> Gregory Porter‘s rich baritone is like buttah. His style is firmly rooted in jazz, but he also draws from the blues, gospel and southern soul. Grab a date and head to The Howard Theatre on Sunday or Monday to catch the current King of the Hill among male jazz singers. 8 p.m. Tickets $37.50-$70.
>> Fred Foss has been a teacher and mentor to many of the area’s finest jazz musicians. The highly regarded saxophonist played in Lionel Hampton’s famed orchestra and also shared the stage with Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim. He is the October Artist-in-Residence at Bohemian Caverns and will be playing every Tuesday this month. 7:30 and 9 p.m. sets. Tickets $10 in advance/$15 at the door.
