Live Jazz in Washington, D.C.

Michael Foster is a New York City-based saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist whose artistry bridges improvisation, noise, free jazz, performance art, queer theory and graphic and video notation. His work aims to subvert the traditional roles of saxophone, amplifying his horn with a range of unconventional tools, including objects, balloons, drum heads, vibrators, tapes and samples. His newest album, Selections from the Gutter , was released in May 2026, using improvised music to explore themes of history, form and drama. Here he leads his Ghost ensemble, featuring Joey Sullivan on drums and Zach Rowden on bass and tapes.

Multi-instrumentalist Laura Feibelman plays standards, blending the delicacy of classical keys with the rhythmic grooves of swing jazz. She plays flute and piano every Wednesday at Bourbon Boulevard in Chantilly, either solo or as a trio alongside Avi Walter on bass and Brandon Austin on drums.

Fareed Haque's trio ventures into new territory, devoloping his classical guitar inspired fingerstyle arrangements of classic jazz, funk and latin standards and unique compositions. Playing music from Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner to Sergio Mendes and The Meters as well as a healthy dose of original music this trio redfines the contrapuntal possibilities of the guitar in a trio setting. Featuring the legendary Mike Clark and incredible Peter Washington on bass. Fareed Haque is a guitar virtuoso known for blending classical and jazz traditions in his music. Born to a Pakistani father and Chilean mother in 1963, he was exposed to various musical styles early on. His talent was honed at North Texas State University and Northwestern University. Haque’s career took off after joining Howard Levy’s Chevere and later, Paquito D’Rivera’s ensemble, with whom he toured and recorded extensively. His versatility led him to work with Sting and record two albums on Pangaea. He also made notable appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival. At Bluenote Records, Haque released three albums, collaborated with numerous jazz greats, and performed classical recitals, highlighting his diverse range. Joining Joe Zawinul’s Syndicate brought him back to his Jazz/Rock roots. In 2001, he co-founded the jam band Garaj Mahal and later, MathGames, exploring electronic music and the Moog Guitar. His compositions, including a double concerto premiered by The Chicago Sinfonietta, and his Gamelan Concerto, showcase his compositional talent. Haque has received multiple accolades, including ‘Best World Guitarist’ by Guitar Player Magazine in 2009. His recent work includes performances with jazz and classical ensembles and the release of several albums like “Out of Nowhere” and “Trance Hypothesis.” He continues to direct jazz festivals, perform worldwide, and teach, with recent projects featuring global artists and a renewed partnership with Goran Ivanovic. After a long tenure at Northern Illinois University, Haque is focusing on touring and recording, reflecting his enduring passion for music.

Saxophonist Elijah Jamal Balbed was born and raised in Silver Spring and is a consummate student of the D.C. music scene: He’s equally comfortable blowing some burnished, buoyant hard-bop as he is grooving in the pocket of a go-go band. He can often be found leading groups of some of the other younger statesman of D.C. jazz through originals and standards that swing just right. He can usually be found every Thursday night leading the house band at Bossa Bistro with Andrew Musselman on bass and Jon Modell on percussion. Guests from across the D.C. jazz scene and spectrum sit in each week.

Fareed Haque's trio ventures into new territory, devoloping his classical guitar inspired fingerstyle arrangements of classic jazz, funk and latin standards and unique compositions. Playing music from Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner to Sergio Mendes and The Meters as well as a healthy dose of original music this trio redfines the contrapuntal possibilities of the guitar in a trio setting. Featuring the legendary Mike Clark and incredible Peter Washington on bass. Fareed Haque is a guitar virtuoso known for blending classical and jazz traditions in his music. Born to a Pakistani father and Chilean mother in 1963, he was exposed to various musical styles early on. His talent was honed at North Texas State University and Northwestern University. Haque’s career took off after joining Howard Levy’s Chevere and later, Paquito D’Rivera’s ensemble, with whom he toured and recorded extensively. His versatility led him to work with Sting and record two albums on Pangaea. He also made notable appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival. At Bluenote Records, Haque released three albums, collaborated with numerous jazz greats, and performed classical recitals, highlighting his diverse range. Joining Joe Zawinul’s Syndicate brought him back to his Jazz/Rock roots. In 2001, he co-founded the jam band Garaj Mahal and later, MathGames, exploring electronic music and the Moog Guitar. His compositions, including a double concerto premiered by The Chicago Sinfonietta, and his Gamelan Concerto, showcase his compositional talent. Haque has received multiple accolades, including ‘Best World Guitarist’ by Guitar Player Magazine in 2009. His recent work includes performances with jazz and classical ensembles and the release of several albums like “Out of Nowhere” and “Trance Hypothesis.” He continues to direct jazz festivals, perform worldwide, and teach, with recent projects featuring global artists and a renewed partnership with Goran Ivanovic. After a long tenure at Northern Illinois University, Haque is focusing on touring and recording, reflecting his enduring passion for music.

Trumpeter Kenny Rittenhouse has led ensembles of various sizes around the DMV for two decades, and is a member of many others (including the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra). Rittenhouse specializes hard-bop a la Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers under Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan and his groups deliver swinging takes on the standards and the members’ originals. He leads a strong quintet – Grant Langford on alto saxophone, Allyn Johnson on piano, Kris Funn on bass and C.V. Dashiell on drums – to celebrate the release of his new album “Anthem for the Elders.”

with Lorin Cohen, Bass and Jason Brown, drums Born on June 6, 1944, Monty Alexander belongs to a generation of modern jazz piano heroes. From a multicultural, multi-ethnic universe, somewhere between jazz and reggae, he’s a true champion of the Great American Song Book and the world’s finest avatar of Jamaican jazz. Monty’s music combines the rhythms of his native West Indian Caribbean land with North-American harmonies and forms. At 16, he was already expert in all the dance musics of the day: cha-cha, merengue, calypso... “It was music with a beat, and depending how you attack the rhythm, how fierce the rhythm would get, people would want to dance and clap their hands. The music came up with that certain identifiably Jamaican accent or rhythm, the way people talk walk or drive,” he remembers. Exposed to all types of music at dances, he also developed a passion for rhythm’ n blues as well as for Nat King Cole or the inventors of bebop, who he heard on the radio and sought to play be ear. Monty also took part in the early days of ska in the Kingston studios that arranged his first engagements. At 17, he moved to the United States, where he didn’t take long to be noticed by a certain Frank Sinatra, who eased his rip-roaring entry into the big league of the jazzmen of the day. Monty accompanied the great figures of be-bop including Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin and Benny Golson. To this day he carries on the tradition of the full orchestral swinging pianists started by Nat King Cole (in his turn influenced by Earl Fatha Hines), and continued on by Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal and Wynton Kelly, all of whom he forged close friendships with in the early 60’s. He recorded for Pacific Jazz for the first time under his name at the age of 20. Alexander The Great was and is a supercharged album that introduced the world to the young prodigy. Critics spoke of “accessible jazz, joyous swing, effusive, without histrionics”. These early years left Alexander with an indelible impression of a wide-open window onto an eclectic world. Armed with an intransigent spirit, a total commitment to his art and incredible musical intuition, he has since developed an instantly recognizable style and has recorded over 75 albums to date. As with many jazz giants, Europe in the sixties, seventies and eighties was a fundamental haven for Alexander and it was also where his international stature grew. A documentary about his life is currently in the works. After a career spanning over 60 years, he’s still writing musical history today.

with Lorin Cohen, Bass and Jason Brown, drums Born on June 6, 1944, Monty Alexander belongs to a generation of modern jazz piano heroes. From a multicultural, multi-ethnic universe, somewhere between jazz and reggae, he’s a true champion of the Great American Song Book and the world’s finest avatar of Jamaican jazz. Monty’s music combines the rhythms of his native West Indian Caribbean land with North-American harmonies and forms. At 16, he was already expert in all the dance musics of the day: cha-cha, merengue, calypso... “It was music with a beat, and depending how you attack the rhythm, how fierce the rhythm would get, people would want to dance and clap their hands. The music came up with that certain identifiably Jamaican accent or rhythm, the way people talk walk or drive,” he remembers. Exposed to all types of music at dances, he also developed a passion for rhythm’ n blues as well as for Nat King Cole or the inventors of bebop, who he heard on the radio and sought to play be ear. Monty also took part in the early days of ska in the Kingston studios that arranged his first engagements. At 17, he moved to the United States, where he didn’t take long to be noticed by a certain Frank Sinatra, who eased his rip-roaring entry into the big league of the jazzmen of the day. Monty accompanied the great figures of be-bop including Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin and Benny Golson. To this day he carries on the tradition of the full orchestral swinging pianists started by Nat King Cole (in his turn influenced by Earl Fatha Hines), and continued on by Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal and Wynton Kelly, all of whom he forged close friendships with in the early 60’s. He recorded for Pacific Jazz for the first time under his name at the age of 20. Alexander The Great was and is a supercharged album that introduced the world to the young prodigy. Critics spoke of “accessible jazz, joyous swing, effusive, without histrionics”. These early years left Alexander with an indelible impression of a wide-open window onto an eclectic world. Armed with an intransigent spirit, a total commitment to his art and incredible musical intuition, he has since developed an instantly recognizable style and has recorded over 75 albums to date. As with many jazz giants, Europe in the sixties, seventies and eighties was a fundamental haven for Alexander and it was also where his international stature grew. A documentary about his life is currently in the works. After a career spanning over 60 years, he’s still writing musical history today.