2008 - 2009 Jazz Schedule

The consummate artist--musician, emcee, vocalist, producer, and actor of stage and screen--Mos Def premiered his acoustic project in 2003, and the Mos Def Big Band in January 2007, drawing from original compositions and material by Miles Davis, Beyoncé, James Brown, and Gil Scott-Heron, among others. Always bending genres to create his own sound, Mos lithely flows among hip hop, jazz, and soul while fronting his orchestra of savvy musicians. His face is as familiar as his sound; his acting credits include Be Kind Rewind, 16 Blocks, Something the Lord Made, Lackawanna Blues, and Top Dog/Underdog.

The consummate artist--musician, emcee, vocalist, producer, and actor of stage and screen--Mos Def premiered his acoustic project in 2003, and the Mos Def Big Band in January 2007, drawing from original compositions and material by Miles Davis, Beyoncé, James Brown, and Gil Scott-Heron, among others. Always bending genres to create his own sound, Mos lithely flows among hip hop, jazz, and soul while fronting his orchestra of savvy musicians. His face is as familiar as his sound; his acting credits include Be Kind Rewind, 16 Blocks, Something the Lord Made, Lackawanna Blues, and Top Dog/Underdog.

Award-winning vocalist and Kansas City native Kevin Mahogany presents his Kansas City Revue with the Godfathers of Groove and vocalist Kathy Kosins, moving through R&B, boogie woogie, blues, and jazz.

New Orleans' legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band and vocal titans the Blind Boys of Alabama join forces to present "Down by the Riverside," combining jazz and gospel hymns.

New Orleans' legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band and vocal titans the Blind Boys of Alabama join forces to present "Down by the Riverside," combining jazz and gospel hymns.

Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt has been lauded for his tone, which "strikes a warm balance between brightness and suffusion" (All About Jazz), and has been voted Rising Star on the trumpet five years in a row by DownBeat Magazine.

A member of Howard University's faculty, drummer/vocalist Grady Tate was a member of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show band for six years.

A world-renowned drummer, composer, and producer, Terri Lyne Carrington is no stranger to the spotlight, having been a mainstay in the industry for more than 20 years.

Allan Harris returns to the Center with selections from his newly released CD, Cry of the Thunderbird, the next installment in his "Cross That River" trilogy.

Blue Note Records artists--pianist Bill Charlap, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, saxophonists Ravi Coltrane and Steve Wilson, guitarist Pat Martino, drummers Lewis Nash and Peter Washington--perform well-known hits from this renowned label's vault.

Three-time Grammy-nominated bassist John Clayton's talents are consistently in demand. His son, pianist Gerald performs with an "Oscar Peterson–like style, highly controlled touch and dynamics and rhapsodic, episodic soloing" (The New York Times).

Kurt Elling brings Ernie Watts and the Ethel String Quartet aboard for "Dedicated to You," Elling's creative re-imagining of John Coltrane's collaboration with "romantic balladeer" Johnny Hartman.

"The Keys to New Orleans" features three Crescent City music legends--Allen Toussaint, Henry Butler, and Jon Cleary--joining forces for a spectacular tribute to the Big Easy.

Ring in the New Year in style with a sizzling late-night jazz performance by today's leading jazz artists.

Vocalists Freelon and Blackwell explore the intersection of classical music and jazz through the musical genius of Duke Ellington in this world premiere Kennedy Center–commissioned concert.

The festival marks its 14th thrilling year with three evenings of star-studded performances featuring the world's top female jazz artists.

Winner of the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition, Ambrose Akinmusire performs music that works its "way under the skin, delivering a tickle one moment and an electric jolt the next" (Variety).

The Kennedy Center salutes the 60-year career of award-winning saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master Benny Golson in a concert with appearances by the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Al Jarreau, Ron Carter, Bill Cosby, and others.

Critics have called New York-based pianist/composer Dan Tepfer "brilliant" (Boston Globe) and "one of tomorrow's jazz stars" (Eugene Weekly). He was recently named the 2007 Cole Porter Fellow in Jazz of the American Pianists Association.

"One doesn't turn to Hank Jones for innovation or surprise but rather for highly polished, state-of-the-art mainstream jazz piano" (All About Jazz). To celebrate the 90th year of his birth, he's joined by renowned vocalist Roberta Gambarini.

Saxophonist Javon Jackson and pianist Les McCann come together to perform in a concert that revisits McCann's 1969 hit album Swiss Movement, recently re-released by Rhino/Atlantic.

Join the Kennedy Center and National Public Radio for this annual treat when top jazz pianists and other artists perform their favorite holiday songs.

Roger Kellaway "is a rare pianist with the technical command and historical knowledge to recreate a portion of Oscar Peterson's ‘power, clarity, musicality, and will to swing,' all while sounding like himself" (JazzTimes).