At the close of last night’s concert at the 2007 Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, Executive Producer Charlie Fishman said his friend and mentor, the great Dizzy Gillespie (pictured), who was the focus of this year’s proceedings, chose to name his last big band the United Nation (in the singular) Jazz Orchestra to show the oneness of humanity. Fishman went on to say that Dizzy often told his colleagues that human beings all share two characteristics:…

Washington woke up this morning to the sad news that Mstislav Rostropovich died in Moscow today, after undergoing treatment for cancer since February. The world has lost a giant of music, an enthusiastic, larger than life figure for many of his 80 years among us. Many Washingtonians felt the loss more keenly because of the Russian cellist and conductor’s long relationship with the city, as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to…

>> We realize it’s been a while since we stirred the pot on Butterstick mania, but there’s a new way to celebrate your love for all things panda. Keds has their own (surprisingly cute) panda shoes. No, they’re not made of real pandas, but these canvas creations might be some comfort after Tai Shan is ripped from our grasp and shipped off to China this fall. >> This Mardi Gras one local blogger (sorta) remembers…

DCist is a big fan of Five Guys burgers. We’re sure there are healthier things out there for you, but damn they’re good. (Feel free to chime with your favorite burgers in town.) But the historian in us makes us feel sort of sad with the arrival of Five Guys in Georgetown for a piece of Cold War history has been lost: The Vitaly Yurchenko Memorial Bathroom. It was at the old Au Pied du…