Jazz Jam Sessions in Washington, D.C.

Peter Edelman, the longtime pianist at the now-closed Columbia Station, has taken the party next door to the Green Island Cafe, leading a straight-ahead trio four nights a week. After an opening set, Edelman then opens the proceedings into one of the city’s most beloved jam sessions, at which everyone from venerated elders to young bloods can come cut their chops.

Peter Edelman, the longtime pianist at the now-closed Columbia Station, has taken the party next door to the Green Island Cafe, leading a straight-ahead trio five nights a week. After an opening set, Edelman then opens the proceedings into one of the city’s most beloved jam sessions, at which everyone from venerated elders to young bloods can come cut their chops. Two separate sessions at 5 and 9 p.m.

While there are many formal and informal jams in and around the Beltway every week, the D.C. jazz jam is the flagship event for the city’s jazz scene. Organized by drummer Will Stephens, the jam becomes a hangout and classroom for cats of all levels of experience; now with a rotating cast of hosts among the city’s best musicians. Formerly hosted on U Street, the jam now holds forth in Mt. Pleasant.

Bassist Andrew Musselman leads his “Jazz on the Rocks” jam session in its newest Columbia Heights home. The session has traveled across multiple venues over the years, and provides space for adventurous musicians to explore the more groove-oriented, electric branches of the music.

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.

Mon, Sep 21, 7:00 PM

Valentina Rubio - Argentinian Jazz Series

Blues Alley / Georgetown / Map

A straight-ahead jazz performance centered on the Great American Songbook, with a strong focus on storytelling and interplay, featuring outstanding musicians from the Washington, DC scene. Valentina Rubio is a jazz vocalist from Buenos Aires and one of the most active voices of the Argentine jazz scene in recent years. Trained with some of the country’s leading musicians, she has developed a solid performing career at a young age, appearing regularly at the city’s most prominent jazz venues and participating in the Buenos Aires International Jazz Festival in multiple editions. Deeply rooted in the straight-ahead tradition, she has collaborated with many of the most respected figures in the Argentine jazz community. In Buenos Aires, she is also co-founder and co-producer of the country’s first vocal jazz jam session, creating a space dedicated to singers within the scene. In recent years, Rubio has begun expanding her work internationally, traveling to New York where she has performed and collaborated with established musicians such as James Austin Jr., Leo Larrat, Caleb Tobocman, and Paul Sikivie. She has also studied with Lucy Yeghiazaryan and Vanisha Gould as part of the Tribeca Jazz Institute. Currently based between Buenos Aires and New York, she is steadily building an international presence while continuing to develop her voice within the jazz tradition. Co-Presented with the Embassy of Argentina

Mon, Sep 21, 9:30 PM

Valentina Rubio - Argentinian Jazz Series

Blues Alley / Georgetown / Map

A straight-ahead jazz performance centered on the Great American Songbook, with a strong focus on storytelling and interplay, featuring outstanding musicians from the Washington, DC scene. Valentina Rubio is a jazz vocalist from Buenos Aires and one of the most active voices of the Argentine jazz scene in recent years. Trained with some of the country’s leading musicians, she has developed a solid performing career at a young age, appearing regularly at the city’s most prominent jazz venues and participating in the Buenos Aires International Jazz Festival in multiple editions. Deeply rooted in the straight-ahead tradition, she has collaborated with many of the most respected figures in the Argentine jazz community. In Buenos Aires, she is also co-founder and co-producer of the country’s first vocal jazz jam session, creating a space dedicated to singers within the scene. In recent years, Rubio has begun expanding her work internationally, traveling to New York where she has performed and collaborated with established musicians such as James Austin Jr., Leo Larrat, Caleb Tobocman, and Paul Sikivie. She has also studied with Lucy Yeghiazaryan and Vanisha Gould as part of the Tribeca Jazz Institute. Currently based between Buenos Aires and New York, she is steadily building an international presence while continuing to develop her voice within the jazz tradition. Co-Presented with the Embassy of Argentina

Local musicians lead a jam session at Takoma Station, a bar that was a hotbed for the straight-ahead scene in the 1980s and ’90s.