Live Jazz in Washington, D.C.

As Is - the project led by guitarist Al Schulman and vocalist Stacey Schulman debut their 3rd album "Crazy World" - an expansive mix of jazz, pop, Brazilian repertoire, soul, and original material. Building off their trajectory that has widened from intimate duo settings into increasingly flexible ensemble forms, the set will feature a mix of genres, while rooting itself even deeper in the fundamentals of song and human connection. Their name "As Is" reflects the project’s guiding principle: meeting the music — and the moment — exactly where it stands, without nostalgia, novelty, or artifice. Described as “nothing short of enchanting” (All About Jazz), As Is—the musical partnership of jazz guitarist Al Schulman and vocalist Stacey Lynn Schulman—brings a deeply personal, imaginative voice to the jazz canon. Known for reinterpreting 20th-century song classics with both reverence and originality, the duo creates performances that feel at once intimate and expansive. As Jazz Mostly notes, “they find new ways to approach the songs…preserving the origins while making them deeply personal statements.” As Is has toured across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, collaborating with leading contemporary jazz artists including Marcus Baylor, David Binney, Christie Dashiell, Corcoran Holt, Kokayi, and Grégoire Maret. Their performances are marked by a rare musical chemistry—“energetic and contagious” (The Jazz Page)—and a commitment to storytelling that resonates across audiences. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Al Schulman studied with legendary guitarist Cal Collins (Benny Goodman Orchestra) and later became a fixture in the Chicago jazz scene before earning his Master’s degree in Jazz Arranging & Composition from Howard University in Washington, DC. A Thelonious Monk Competition Top-10 finalist, he has performed with artists including Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, Anita Baker, and Michael Feinstein, and is recognized for his “soft, round tone” (All About Jazz) and a “sparking” guitar presence (DownBeat contributor Dan Ouellette). Stacey Lynn Schulman, a New York native, has been performing professionally since childhood, with credits spanning radio, television, film, and theater. Her “alluring, captivating” voice (DownBeat contributor Dan Ouellette) has been described as “fresh and vibrant” (Jazz Mostly), with the versatility and interpretive depth to “summon delicate lace on one song and a bouncy jam on another” (All About Jazz). The duo’s discography began in Rome with A Love Like Ours (2015), followed by their breakthrough sophomore album, Here’s to Life (2018), produced by Grammy-nominated James McKinney and featuring liner notes by DownBeat contributor Dan Ouellette. Recorded in New York City and embraced by jazz radio, the album debuted at #1 on Amazon Jazz, #6 on iTunes Jazz, and reached #9 on Billboard’s Traditional Jazz Chart. With their third album Crazy World (May 2026), As Is expands its artistic scope—exploring themes of humanity, connection, and authenticity in an increasingly complex cultural landscape. The album features liner notes by Keanna Faircloth (WPFW, Washington, DC / WBGO, New York), who notes that “every track carries an emotional charge that feels distinctly human.”

Saxophonist BJ Simmons performs as part of Blues Alley’s Emerging Artist series, playing tracks from his recently released album, Trapped In, as well as selections from previous projects. Simmons music is heavily layered, bridging elements of jazz, hip-hop and soul. His compositions feature a mixture of spoken word, velvety R&B style vocals, rich improvisational melodies, abstract soundscapes and chilled syncopated beats.

Cécile McLorin Salvant is a composer, vocalist and visual artist whose style blends jazz, baroque, folk, vaudeville and blues. The three-time Grammy winner hails from Miami, where her multi-cultural upbringing exposed her to a range of Black diasporic sounds, from Motown soul to hip-hop, bluegrass, Haitian folk and Senegalese and Cape Verdean music. Her most recent album, Oh Snap, was released in September 2025 and delivers a mixture of blusey straight-ahead instrumentals, dreamy acoustic soundscapes, folkloric storytelling, electro-ballads and bouncy house-inspired dance tracks, featuring Salvant’s velvety and rhythmic jazz-rooted vocals. Her project “Book of Ayres” brings together improvisers from across jazz, folk and electronic scenes. Opening is harpist Brandee Younger and her trio.

Crab Shack Music celebrates its tenth anniversary with a presentation of its backyard concert series, Crab Shack Live, featuring several DMV-based musicians. The Student Revue is composed of students who take lessons at the Shake, performing contemporary pop music. Saxophonist Langton Hughes II has roots in gospel, blending rhythmic, soulful melodies with swinging smooth jazz-style improvisations. Singer-songwriter Sy Smith performs a blend of funk, neo-soul and R&B

Sara Zhu has the voice of an old soul. It’s warm and full and rich like hot chocolate or an old recording of Sarah Vaughan. She leads a duo with a rotating cast of musicians for brunch every Sunday.

WPFW Radio Station celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special benefit concert, featuring two regulars on the D.C. jazz scene. Amy K. Bormet grew up in D.C. learning from Davey Yarborough at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and further honed her voice at Howard University’s music program. Her chops, rooted in the tradition, are evident, but her voice as a composer draws on a range of influences from sparse Nordic jazz to lyrical, grooving, Afro-Cuban pianistics. She’s a versatile pianist and vocalist — and the founder of the Washington Women in Jazz Festival. 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.

Kalia Vandever is a New York-based trombonist who performs a mixture of composed and improvised music. Their 2023 album, Another View, delivers a collage of meditative, jazz-rooted tracks that blend rich and lyrical horn melodies, with steady rhythms, enchanting soundscapes, distortion effects and twisting electro-acoustic improvisation. Emily Francisco is a D.C.-based artist and educator. They perform in a duo with artist and musician Alex Tyson, whose work incorporates generative visuals, robots, metals, plaster and lasers. niki asfar is an Iranian-American, nonbinary/femme writer and interdisciplinary artist whose work explored hybrid identity, mental health and fluidity in language. Their mediums include poetry, text, sound collaging, mirror work and live singing and recording using a vocal loop machine.

A delightful and charming vocalist Caterina Zapponi performs an eclectic, multilingual repertoire that blends traditional vocal jazz with international styles like her native French cabaret and Italian melodies, and more. In her career, the gifted multi-lingual vocalist Caterina Zapponi has explored music ranging from jazz and the American popular song to cabaret and musical theater. Zapponi was born and raised in Rome, the daughter of celebrated screenwriter Bernardino Zapponi, a collaborator and longtime friend of Federico Fellini. Her mother was a French born chanteuse and instilled in Caterina her love of the French repertoire. The film High Society helped introduce her to jazz while fueling a desire to move to the United States, which she did upon receiving a scholarship from Berklee College of Music. She graduated in two years and won the Berklee Cleo Laine Award for vocal achievement and performance. Caterina Zapponi was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition and has since performed at prestigious venues including New York’s Birdland, and The Blue Note, and internationally at the Verbier and Saint Barthelemy festivals. She has also performed internationally with pianist Monty Alexander at numerous venues including London's Ronnie Scott’s, Marseille Jazz Festival, Paris'New Morning and Theatre des Champs Elysees, Tokyo's Blue Note and Cotton Club, Switzerland's Cully and Bern Festivals, Russia's Moscow International House of Music, and at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Her recordings include the album "Universal Love Songs", released by Inak Music and "Romantica" on Motema Music. Zapponi is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, and performed “A Song For You” for the film For the Love of the Game with Kevin Costner. Co-Presented with the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington