Find what is happening tonight, tomorrow, and this week across D.C. jazz rooms and the wider DMV scene, with ticket status and neighborhood context first.
Lyle Link is one of the most versatile and consistently beautiful saxophone players around. With a lush and sophisticated sound, Link’s melodic flights can defy gravity. He’s been a mainstay of the D.C. jazz scene for well over two decades and a great collaborator with the likes of Michael Bowie, Todd Marcus, Kenny Rittenhouse and plenty more.
Guitarist Adam Fluger performs jazz standards, grounded in improvised melodies with a chilled electric groove. He leads a duo every Thursday at Bourbon Boulevard in Chantilly, featuring different artists on sax, flute, keys or guitar.
Herb Scott is something of a symbol of the modern jazz cat: he can blow on his alto sax with the best of them, capable of burning down the house with Charlie Parker-style rapid-fire phrasing, or can pick up the mic to drop some bars as a rapper. He’s even been known to try his hand at reggaeton. He’s exploring all of his options, creatively and economically, as a musician. He’s also a tireless champion of jazz in the District.
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.”
Herb Scott is something of a symbol of the modern jazz cat: he can blow on his alto sax with the best of them, capable of burning down the house with Charlie Parker-style rapid-fire phrasing, or can pick up the mic to drop some bars as a rapper. He’s even been known to try his hand at reggaeton. He’s exploring all of his options, creatively and economically, as a musician. He’s also a tireless champion of jazz in the District.
“Herb Scott is a young, soulful powerhouse on alto saxophone. As a bandleader, his style often veers into the over-sweetened terrain of smooth jazz, but no matter what he plays, his fleetness and conviction are undeniable.” – Capitol Bop D.C. Native and saxophonist Herb Scott is a star on the Washington, D.C. Jazz scene. While studying at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts under the award-winning educator Davey Yarborough, he performed with renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. Herb studied Jazz Studies at Michigan State University under Jazz legend Rodney Whitaker and Professor Diego Rivera, and toured with the MSU Jazz Band. His career includes performances at the White House, Dizzy’s Coca Cola-Club in New York, the Lincoln Center, the world famous Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Universal Studios Orlando, Constitution Hall, the Library of Congress, the Detroit Jazz Fest, the East Lansing Jazz Fest, the DC Jazz Fest. Herb’s first album as a band leader, “Introducing Herb Scott on Alto Saxophone, a NU-Jazz Collective”, was released in 2011. In 2015, Herb started the weekly Capitol Hill Jazz Jam session at Mr. Henry’s Restaurant, where Grammy winner Roberta Flack once held her residency. Herb completed his first International Residency at the St. Regis Hotel in Doha, Qatar before returning to the U.S. and headlining at the Legendary Blues Alley Jazz and Supper Club in the fall of 2016. Herb released his new single “The Jazz Show” on January 9, 2019 for sale and streaming on all major platforms. And in 2020, Herb stepped up his jazz/rap fusion style with more tracks including “At the Jazz Show Original”, Private Concert”, and “Baila”.In July, 2020 Herb was named a DC Star by the DC Government’s Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment Agency
Herb Scott is something of a symbol of the modern jazz cat: he can blow on his alto sax with the best of them, capable of burning down the house with Charlie Parker-style rapid-fire phrasing, or can pick up the mic to drop some bars as a rapper, or even try his hand at reggateton. He’s exploring all of his options, creatively and econominally, as a musician. He’s also a tireless champion of jazz in the District. A veteran leader of the Mr. Henry’s jam session, Scott here leads a drum-less trio for a weekly gig in the heart of the historic U Street Corridor.
Herb Scott is something of a symbol of the modern jazz cat: he can blow his alto sax with the best of them, burning down the house with Charlie Parker-style, rapidfire phrasing, or he can pick up the mic to drop a few bars as a rapper. Pianist Hope Udobi isn’t just one of the D.C. scene’s most promising young jazz players from a musicianship standpoint; he’s one of the most riveting, creatively speaking. Udobi’s incendiary bop style is brimming with furious energy, mad montunos and unpredictable lines that venture “out” and dig into the blues’ depths with equal aplomb. The pair hold down a new weekly gig at Awakening in Barracks Row. Vocalists are welcome to join.
