Kennedy Center Events: Jazz

NPR's A Jazz Piano Christmas

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:30:00 EST

Dec 11, 2009
Join the Kennedy Center and National Public Radio for this annual treat when jazz pianists Dr. Billy Taylor, Ramsey Lewis, Patricia Barber, Eldar, and Robert Glasper perform their favorite holiday songs.

Christmas Time Is Here: Dianne Reeves

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:30:00 EST

Dec 18, 2009
Four-time Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves, "the only jazz singer with a voice big enough to rival Sarah Vaughan's" (The New York Times), returns to the Center for a special Christmas program.

A Jazz New Year's Eve featuring John Pizzarelli: Dear Mr. Sinatra

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:30:00 EST

Dec 31, 2009
Ring in the New Year in style with a sizzling jazz performance by John Pizzarelli as he salutes Ol' Blue Eyes in Dear Mr. Sinatra.

Grappelli & Reinhardt: Hot JazzMark O'Connor's Hot Swing & Dorado Schmitt's Django 100

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST

Jan 16, 2010
Inspired by the 1930s pairing of Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt, Hot Jazz finds fiddler extraordinaire Mark O'Connor and his band Hot Swing joining with popular French guitarist Dorado Schmitt of the Django Reinhardt Festival.

Grappelli & Reinhardt: Hot JazzMark O'Connor's Hot Swing & Dorado Schmitt's Django 100

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST

Ella! featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegel, Al Jarreau, & The Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Antonio Hart, Music Director

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST

Jan 24, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Grammy-winning vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegel, and Al Jarreau are featured in this all-star celebration of the music of Ella Fitzgerald, with the Dizzy Gillespie? All-Star Big Band, Antonio Hart, music director.

KC Jazz Club: Jonathan Batiste Quintet

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST

Feb 26, 2010
With his unique voice on piano and dapper sense of style, Jonathan Batiste "has already been turning heads as an up-and-coming pianist with an ebullient style" (The New York Times).

KC Jazz Club: Carl AllenRodney Whitaker Project

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST

Feb 27, 2010
Drummer Carl Allen and bassist Rodney Whitaker "present straightahead jazz with a great deal of composure?sharp, snappy, and expressive jazz" (DownBeat).

KC Jazz Club: An Evening with Delfeayo Marsalis

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST

Mar 12, 2010
A multiple Grammy Award winner as a producer, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis "solos with authority, inserting musical quotes spontaneously as the mood takes him in different directions" (All About Jazz).

KC Jazz Club: Alison Brown

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST

Mar 13, 2010
A musical pioneer, banjo player Alison Brown has pushed beyond bluegrass. "Like James Taylor's voice or B.B. King's guitar, Alison Brown's banjo is an instrument possessed of a unique sonic signature and an inescapable beauty" (Billboard).

KC Jazz Club: Maurice Brown Effect

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST

Mar 19, 2010
When Maurice Brown, the first place winner in the 2001 National Miles Davis Trumpet Competition, "blows his trumpet, folks notice. His irrefutable energy, talent, and focus continually surprise audiences" (JazzTimes).

KC Jazz Club: Shelly Berg

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST

Mar 20, 2010
The Los Angeles Times says pianist Shelly Berg "burns hard, his fingers flying over the keyboard while his body nearly levitates off the bench, [leaving the] crowd breathless!"

KC Jazz Club: Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST

Mar 27, 2010
Renowned for her bebop mastery and for infusing traditional Japanese music into bold, original arrangements, Toshiko Akiyoshi is a pianist, composer, and bandleader with "unmistakable lyrical gifts" (The New Yorker).

George Benson

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EST

Apr 11, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Ten-time Grammy Award--winning guitarist and vocalist George Benson is "an extraordinary musician by any standard" (JazzTimes).

Mavis Staples

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:30:00 EST

Apr 23, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples is one of the most recognizable and treasured voices in contemporary music. Part of Joyful Sounds: Gospel Across America.

Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival - 15th Anniversary

Thu, 20 May 2010 19:00:00 EST

May 20 - 22, 2010
The 15th Annual Women in Jazz Festival marks the 100th anniversary year of Williams's birth with three evenings of star-studded performances featuring the world's top female jazz artists.

Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Emerging Artist Showcase

Sat, 22 May 2010 18:01:00 EST

May 22, 2010 at 6:01 PM
Witness the future of jazz in this concert featuring five exceptional pianists selected as the inaugural class of the "Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Emerging Artist Workshop."

Melody Gardot

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:30:00 EST

Jun 7, 2010 at 7:30 PM

Matt Savage Trio

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:30:00 EST

Jun 8, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Seventeen-year-old jazz pianist Matt Savage has been heralded by Dave Brubeck as "amazing" and "another Mozart," and by Chick Corea as "delightful and inspiring."

Diane Schuur

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:30:00 EST

Jun 11, 2010
Last seen at the Center in 2006, two-time Grammy Award winner Diane Schuur brandishes the power to amaze with her supreme vocal versatility and sensational 3-1/2 octave range. Part of the 2010 VSA arts International Festival.