The DC Jazz Festival runs through June 19th.

It’s Christmas in June if you’re in the District and a fan of jazz. While the DC Jazz Festival started warming up last Thursday with concerts and family events at The Phillips Collection, the annual event really fires up this week and it’s official launch is on Friday at The Hamilton. Here are DCist’s picks for shows to check out between now and June 19th. We took care to choose a blend of marquis performances and shows that might not be on everyone’s radar.

June 8:

>> Top Pick: French pianist Laurent Coq and American saxophonist Walter Smith III created The Lafayette Suite to honor the legacy of the Marquis de Lafayette, the fastest rapper on Broadway French hero of the American Revolution. The two will play the suite in its entirety tonight at the Embassy of France. 8 p.m. Tickets $25

>> Runner-up: Gallery O on H hosts John Lewis’s ELECTROKOUSTIC, a blend of Brazilian & Acoustic Jazz, with a touch of ’80’s Funk. Lewis will be performing with a Sign Language interpreter. 7:30 p.m. Free.

June 9:

>> Top Pick: Saxophonist Elijah Balbed played with go-go icon Chuck Brown during the last years of Brown’s life. Inspired by the experience, he formed the JoGo Project to combine jazz with the infectious rhythms of D.C.’s homegrown dance music. The ensemble will play a free lunch time show Franklin Park (K and 14th Streets NW). 12 p.m. Free.

>> Runner-up: Pianist Allyn Johnson and saxophonist Antonio Parker are two of the local scene’s most appreciated musicians. They will play a free 7 p.m. duo show, with discussion, at UDC’s Recital Hall.

>> Also: Gallery O on H hosts up-and-coming area vocalist, Integriti Reeves. 7:30 p.m. Free.

June 10:

>> Top Pick: The Hamilton has served as the DC Jazz Festival’s hub for the past several years. The club continues that role, beginning on Friday with performances from violinist Regina Carter and her quartet, along with D.C. native Ben Williams and his band, Sound Effect. 8:30 p.m. Tickets $29.75-$44.75.

>> Runner-up: The DC Jazz Festival is committed to bringing music to all parts of D.C., including east of the Anacostia. Its East River JazzFest series commences on Friday with a performance from trumpeter Kenny Rittenhouse and his band. The 7:30 p.m. show takes place at We Act Radio, located at 1918 Martin Luther King Ave. SE. Tickets $21.50.

>> Also: The Kennedy Center‘s Millennium Stage is running a series called Dis is ‘Da Drum, featuring D.C.’s leading drummer/percussionist-bandleaders, and several global percussion perspectives. Drummer Mark Prince will bring his band, Aqua Leo, to the stage on Friday. 6 p.m. Free.

>> Also: Gallery O on H hosts a night of Caribbean sounds on Friday. C.A.I.S.O. is the Caribbean American International Steel Orchestra and they will headline a bill that includes The Pocket, a locally-based alternative-rock-reggae band. 7:30 p.m. Free.

June 11:

>> Top Pick: For the 6th year running, CapitalBop is bringing its Jazz Loft series to the DC Jazz Festival. Choosing different pop up venues each year, the 2016 series will take place at Arris (1331 4th Street SE, a block from Yards Park). The first performers up are two of the hottest young names in jazz, both hailing from Chicago: Makaya McCraven and Marquis Hill. Each will play with a quintet before joining forces in a supersized ensemble for a midnight jam. D.C. native and Grammy nominee Carolyn Malachi opens. 8:30 p.m. Tickets $20-$50.

>> Runner-up: Brad Linde is one of the area’s most visible jazz artists, leading a number of bands around town and regionally. His latest ensemble, Team Players, is celebrating the release of a new album, All-American, whose music draws inspiration from baseball, Albert Ayler, and Americana. The quartet plays the Atlas at 8 p.m. Tickets $20.

>> Also: The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra pays tribute the legendary organist, Jimmy Smith, at the National Museum of American History. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25.

June 12:

>> Top Pick: Caz Gardiner is a vocalist and Wammie nominee who will be teaming up with Shannon Gunn, named D.C.’s best trombonist by the Washington City Paper in 2015, to present Jazz in the Key of Femme. The two will co-lead Gunn’s all-female ensemble, The Bullettes, at Gallery O on H. 7 p.m. Free.

>> Runner-up: Reedist Bill Cole has invented an entirely new musical vocabulary by introducing untempered instruments —instruments to which Western tuning conventions do not apply—into the jazz idiom. He will lead a trio on Sunday at the Atlas, as will Matthew Shipp, one of the most distinctive pianists working in jazz today. Tickets to the 7 and 8:30 p.m. sets may be bought separately for $15, or as a package for $25.

>> Also: The D.C. Alley Museum is an array of murals in Blagden Alley, between 9th &10th and N & M Streets in Northwest. A jazz-inspired live mural project will take place in the alley between 12 and 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Free.

>> Also: Trumpeter Etienne Charles is fully versed in jazz tradition, but then gives a twist by adding influences from his Trinidadian Creole heritage. The trumpeter shares a bill at The Hamilton along with Grammy nominated saxophonist Jimmy Greene. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $22.75 to $41.25.

June 13:

>> Top Pick: Howard University’s jazz program is internationally recognized as one of the best. This is in no small part due to the two gentlemen who started the department, Professor Fred Irby and Dr. Art Dawkins. The DC Jazz Festival honors these two HU pillars with a Kennedy Center concert that will feature NEA Jazz Master Benny Golson as well as a host of Howard faculty and alumni, including Greg Osby, Loston Harris, Tim Warfield, Cyrus Chestnut, Mark Batson, Paul Carr, Afro Blue, Carroll Dashiell, Shelton Becton, Kris Funn, Savannah Harris, and others. 8 p.m. Tickets $39-$65.

>> Runner-up: The local jazz community still hasn’t recovered from the loss of Bohemian Caverns earlier this year. Thankfully, the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra lives on and it will be playing the Atlas in tribute to another great big band, that of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, which played New York’s Village Vanguard for decades. 8 p.m. Tickets $20.

>> Also: Lena Seikaly is one of the area’s top vocalists and she will give a free afternoon performance at the Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument at noon.

June 14:

>> Top Pick: Steve Coleman developed an entirely new approach to musical improvisation that he dubbed M-BASE, which stands for Macro – Basic Array of Structured Extemporizations. His pioneering work led to a MacArthur “genius grant” in 2014 and he continues to explore new sonic avenues with his band, Five Elements. The ensemble plays the historic Sixth & I Synagogue at 8 p.m. Tickets $28-$33.

>> Runner-up: Nasar Abadey has long been one of D.C.’s first call jazz drummers. He will lead a trio on the Kennedy Center‘s Millennium Stage. 6 p.m. Free.

>> Also: What would a jazz festival be without a jam session? Pianist Mark Meadows will lead one at Sotto. 8 to 11 p.m. Free.

June 15:

>> Top Pick: The Embassy of Italy hosts violinist Luca Ciarla, who is equally at home in jazz, classical, and fusion settings. The 7:30 p.m. performance is free, but pre-registration is required.

>> Runner-up: Saxophonist Charlie Young, a long time member of the aforementioned jazz program at Howard University, has mentored many of D.C.’s top jazz artists. He will perform along with pianist Allyn Johnson and the UDC Jazztet at UDC’s University Auditorium. 7 p.m. Free.

>> Also: Cymande is a band that helped build Britain’s funk scene in the ’70s, combining African American influences along with the members’ Caribbean heritage. They reunited in 2014 and will be at The Hamilton along with opener, violinist Chelsey Green. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25-$45.

>> Also: Saxophonist Herb Scott leads a jam session at Mr. Henry’s. 8 to 11 p.m. Free.

June 16:

>> Top Pick: Mika Mimura is a mallet percussionist hailing from Osaka, Japan. The Japan Information & Cultural Center has assembled a quartet that will play a mix of standards and her original material. Warren Wolf, based in Baltimore and a world class vibraphonist, will be a featured guest. 6:30 p.m. Tickets $15.

>> Runner-up: Percussionist Tom Teasley leads a trio on the Millennium Stage, putting modern percussion in ancient musical contexts. 6 p.m. Free.

>> Also: Ernest Ranglin began his career in 1948, and over nearly 70 years, has become one of the most important influential figures in Jamaican music. As a guitarist, he developed much of the vocabulary that would form the basis for reggae and ska music. Ranglin plays The Hamilton along with special guest, Yotam Silberstein. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $27.75-$49.75.

>> Also: Led by singer Sunny Jolie, The Beat Fairy plays a combination of folk traditionals, jazz standards, and whimsical originals that overlay Malian, Ghanaian, Nigerian, and electronic rhythmic foundations. The band plays 8 to 11 p.m. at Sotto.

June 17:

>> Top Pick: The DC Jazz Festival will return to Yards Park with a packed weekend of outdoor performances in a beautiful waterfront setting. The festivities start on Friday with Grrls Rule, an evening of music from a group of gifted women. The lineup includes D.C. favorites Akua Allrich and Cissa Paz, along with saxophonist Sharel Cassity and her new project, Elektra. 5 to 10 p.m. Free.

>> Runner-up: Pianist and composer Michele Rosewoman brings her Afro-Cuban fusion orchestra, New Yor-uba, to CapitalBop‘s Jazz Loft at Arris. Area kora player Amadou Kouyate descends from a long line of griot musicians and will present his take on that West African heritage as the night’s opener. 9 p.m. to midnight. Tickets $20-$50.

>> Also: Funk legend Maceo Parker plays 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. sets at The Hamilton. Tickets $19-$42.

>> Also: Abinnet Berhanu is a talented young drummer who is on the rise within the local jazz community. He leads a band from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Sotto. Free with purchase of food or drink.

June 18:

>> Top Pick: Orrin Evans and his Capt. Black Big Band are among less than a handful of large ensembles that are charting a new course in terms of establishing a big band sound for the 21st century. The group will headline the final CapitalBop show at Arris, which will also feature a large group comprised of local talent and led by drummer Nasar Abadey and griot Amadou Kouyate. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets $20-$50.

>> Runner-up: Jazz at the Yards continues with a lineup that includes rising vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, Eddie Palmieri and his infectious Latin Jazz Septet, and The Chuck Brown Band. The finalists of the DCJazzPrix will also perform. This is a new competition that DC Jazz Festival administers, which was created to recognize the finest rising jazz band talent from across the United States. 2 to 10 p.m. Tickets $45-$150, children under 12 free.

>> Also: Harold Mabern is one of jazz’s elder statesman, and at 80 years old is still going strong. His style is rooted in the hard bop, post bop, and soul jazz of the 1960s, but his wit and intensity keep his playing as fresh as ever. Saxophonist Eric Alexander will join him at The Hamilton. Master trombonist Steve Turre, who is also known to solo on a set of conch shells, will lead a band to open. 8:30 p.m. $26-$46.

>> Also: Mr. Henry’s presents vocalists Renee Tannenbaum (upstairs) and Nina Casey (downstairs) from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Two item per person minimum.

June 19:

>> Top Pick: The intersection between jazz and hip-hop will be explored on Sunday at Yards Park. Kamasi Washington is best known for his collaboration with Kendrick Lamar on To Pimp A Butterfly. Here, the saxophonist will lead his own band. Trumpeter Igmar Thomas has toured extensively with Esperanza Spalding and Ms. Lauryn HIll, but will lead a big band that includes specials guests Talib Kweli, Bilal, and Ravi Coltrane. Drummer E.J. Strickland will bring his genre blending Transient Beings to the proceedings. 2 to 10 p.m. Tickets $45 to $150, children under 12 free.

>> Runner-up: Joey DeFrancesco is considered by many as the finest jazz organist of his generation, and his emergence in the ’80s started a renaissance for the instrument. His band will play The Hamilton, sharing the stage with Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles. Henry is best known for his work with groove-jazz darlings, Snarky Puppy. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25-$45.

>> Also: An artist being equally comfortable playing bebop runs and Latin jazz grooves is not unusual in the jazz world. To do it on a steel pan, as Victor Provost does, is not something one sees everyday. Provost is a mainstay of the local scene, and plays the Millennium Stage at 6 p.m. Free.

>> Also: Trombonist Reginald Cyntje is one of the area’s most prolific jazz artists. He plays a 5 p.m. show at the Hill Center. Tickets $12-$15. Dinner packages are also available.