After a fairly mild winter, D.C. audiences are primed for spring, and accompanying the warming temperatures are some excellent jazz and international music shows featuring local favorites, as well as two homegrown festivals, one of which highlights women in jazz. Touring artists are approaching pre-pandemic levels of activity, so there are also some wonderful performers stopping in the area this month.
If you only catch one show this month:
CHAKA KHAN TRIBUTE: There isn’t a genre that singer Alison Crockett can’t tackle with her virtuosic singing and electric stage presence. She’s releasing a new album, Echoes Of An Era Redux, a collaboration with busy local trumpeter Thad Wilson. The live recording revisits Chaka Khan’s 1982 album, Echoes Of An Era. On that project, the R&B star teamed up with the greatest jazz musicians of the day, including pianist Chick Corea, drummer Lenny White, and bassist Stanley Clarke, to record an album of jazz standards. Crockett always works with top-notch collaborators, so we’ve no doubt that this performance will live up to the original. (March 7 at Blues Alley, 7 and 9 p.m. sets; $30 + minimum/surcharge)
If you want to see local talent:
WASHINGTON WOMEN IN JAZZ: The Washington Women In Jazz Festival, under the direction of pianist Amy K. Bormet, takes place from March 5-March 27 at venues around the city. Stay tuned for DCist’s more in-depth preview later this week, but we would be remiss if we did not mention it in this month’s roundup.
INTERSECTIONS: The popular Intersections festival is currently running at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, presenting a month of music, dance, and theater aimed at creating connections between people and their larger communities. Two of the area’s best vocalists are part of this year’s program. Heidi Martin‘s Atunement is inspired by the music and writing of late jazz legend Abbey Lincoln and pays tribute to Lincoln’s artistry and activism (March 5 at 3:30 p.m.; $27). Akua Allrich is one of the most dynamic performers D.C. has to offer, and her annual tribute to vocalists Nina Simone and Miriam Makeba is always a must-see on the local jazz calendar (March 18 at 8 p.m.; $25-$30).
FUSION GUITAR: John Lee is a virtuoso guitarist who has toured internationally with global artists such as Cyro Baptista, Fatoumata Diawara, Hassan Hakmoun, and Matisyahu. He doesn’t often step out to lead his own group, but will do so with an excellent band featuring drummer Eric Kennedy, bassist Jeff Reed, and trumpeter Dave Ballou, who — along with Lee — sits on the music faculty at Towson University. (March 14 at Blues Alley, 7 and 9 p.m. sets; $30 + minimum/surcharge)
ALBUM RELEASE: Danielle Wertz was a finalist in Ella Fitzgerald Competition and a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, both among the most prestigious and competitive for a young singer. Originally from the D.C. area and now based in New York, Wertz returns home to celebrate the release of her new album, Other Side. (March 15 at Blues Alley, 7 and 9 p.m. sets, $35 + minimum/surcharge)
BROTHER & SISTER: Ebban and Ephraim Dorsey are sibling saxophonists out of Baltimore who are only in their late teens, but have already shared the stage with the likes of Kamasi Washington and other prominent musicians. They are both students at the Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute and already performing regularly in D.C. and Baltimore. They co-lead a quintet at what is emerging as a hotspot for D.C. jazz. (March 18 at Takoma Station, 7 p.m.; $15 in advance/$20 at the door)
If you want to see acts coming through town:
SAXOPHONE LEGEND: Billy Harper is among the first generation of post-John Coltrane saxophonists, having cut his teeth in the late 1960s and ’70s playing with the likes of Art Blakey, Max Roach, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Over the past decade, Harper is most often associated with The Cookers, a jazz supergroup that includes a number of greats from his generation. He is also returning to bandleading, bringing his latest ensemble to the District. (March 9 at Blues Alley, 7 and 9 p.m. sets; $35 + minimum/surcharge)
A SINGER’S SINGER: René Marie started singing quite young, but put her dreams on pause to start a family. She began her professional career in the late 1990s while in her early 40s, and marches to her own beat, focusing on original compositions instead of jazz standards and facing controversy head-on in order to preserve her artistic integrity. Marie is touring the East Coast in March with her band, Experiment In Truth, and makes a stop in D.C. (March 16 at The Kennedy Center, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. sets; $20-$40)
RECENT GRAMMY WINNERS: Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and pianist Kris Davis won Best Instrumental Jazz Album for Carrington’s album New Standards, Vol 1 at last month’s Grammy awards. The two also join forces for Diatom Ribbons, an engaging project from Davis that includes DJ Val Jeanty, and bassist Trevor Dunn, and which draws equally from hip-hop, rock, and jazz. Named Jazz Journalists Association’s Composer of the Year and Pianist of the Year in 2020, she is among the artists that are setting the markers for what jazz means in the 21st century. Diatom Ribbons is just the latest effort from this ambitious artist. (March 17 at The Kennedy Center, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. sets; $20-$35)
If you want to get out of your comfort zone:
¡FIASCO!: This band, under the direction of area musicians Andrew Frankhouse (sax) and Nelson Dougherty (guitar) originally formed as a quintet in 2016 to present a tribute concert in honor of the great jazz drummer/bandleader Paul Motian. Having trimmed down to a quartet, the band now focuses on original material, mostly penned by Frankhouse. Bassist Steve Arnold and drummer Keith Butler round out the group. ¡FIASCO! shares a bill with experimental cellist Janel Leppin. (March 19 at Rhizome, 7 p.m.; $15-$20)
If you’re in search of global sounds:
CELEBRATE HOLI: Holi is a major festival in India that — depending on where you are in the country — celebrates divine love, the harvest, and the arrival of spring. The holiday is most known for the colorful powder that is playfully thrown about among the revelers. Every year, the bhangra brass band Red Baraat arranges its Festival Of Colors tour to coincide with Holi, bringing its infectious grooves to appreciative audiences up and down the East Coast. The band shares the bill with both established and up-and-coming artists of South Asian heritage. This year, the band’s D.C. performance features the percussionist Suphala. (March 4 at The Hamilton, 8 p.m.; $20-$25 + ticket fees)
