DIG DC

Washington’s Vibrant Jazz Scene
Jazz is a distinct and irreplaceable thread of American culture. It reflects the unique blend of diversity and creative expression embodied by our country and its capital city, Washington, DC. The DCJF is a notable annual event contributing to the revitalization and promotion of Washington’s vibrant music scene.

DC’s Black Broadway
Washington, DC’s northwest U Street corridor, proudly dubbed, “Black Broadway,” served as the entertainment district for the African American community from the early 1900s to the 1960s. It was the place to be and bear witness to an astonishing array of talent ranging from vaudeville acts, traveling shows, musicals, comedy, and of course, Jazz music. “Black Broadway’s” reputation exceeded the city limits and drew audiences and performers from all parts of America, due in large part to DC’s native son, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.

T Street’s Howard Theatre, located in “Little Harlem” (7th and T Streets) played host to some of the finest entertainment in the nation. This was one of the few de-segregated theaters in the city, where people of all races gathered to see Jazz legends such as native Washingtonian Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan and Lionel Hampton.

In 1922, the Lincoln Theater, a first run vaudeville and movie house, and the Lincoln Colonnade (dancehall), managed by African Americans, opened their doors as an integral part of DC’s “Black Broadway”. The Lincoln Colonnade hosted many of the great big bands for proms and social gatherings of the time. The Lincoln Theater was one of three movie houses in the Shaw neighborhood, which also included the Dunbar and Republic theaters. In 1979, the Lincoln Theater was declared an historic landmark, underwent a major restoration, and re-opened shortly thereafter. The Lincoln has since hosted numerous performers, including Cassandra Wilson, Quincy Jones, DC’s own Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown, Wynton Marsalis and is a partner venue of the DEJF.

Following a period of cultural and musical stagnation, today’s U Street has rekindled much of the fervor that made Washington, DC a Jazz Mecca. While the days of vaudeville and ragtime are past, their spirits are alive and well in many clubs and theaters along the corridor. The True Reformers Hall, an architectural and entrepreneurial icon of Washington’s Black community, was the dance hall where Ellington performed one of his first gigs as a bandleader with the “Duke’s Serenaders.” A mural of Duke Ellington outside The True Reformers Hall Building serves as a reminder that in the Nation’s Capital, Jazz is king.

Along with the onset of many new and promising clubs such as Jojo’s, Twins Jazz Club, Busboys & Poets, and Utopia, the U Street Renaissance has included the restoration of many legendary sites including the Lincoln Theater, Whitelaw Hotel, 12th Street YMCA, and True Reformers Hall. Bohemian Caverns, once the cornerstone for Jazz in the Nation’s Capital, was renovated in 1999 and now serves as a valuable link to U Street’s hey-day. A 2007 partnership between Bohemian Caverns and the DEJF ushered in the club’s first live Jazz recording in over 40 years.

DC’s unique Jazz scene extends beyond the U Street Corridor into Jazz clubs such as Blues Alley, located in Georgetown, and to national cultural institutions including the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center, all of which are partner venues of the DEJF. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra performs regularly at concerts in and around Washington, DC and also tours nationally and internationally. In addition, since 1998, the Kennedy Center has cultivated new Jazz artists with Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program and the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival.

Washington, DC has a rich Jazz history and continues to be home to a thriving Jazz community. With the continued growth of the Jazz scene along U Street, around the city and with world-class events like the DC Jazz Festival presented here, Washington, DC will keep the rhythm be-bopping for decades to come.