ARTISTS

THE WHARF

​Guitarist, bandleader and singer Chuck Brown was a certified Washington, DC legend.  Fluent in funk, swing, jazz, blues and blessed with a vocal command that also sampled liberally from the Great American Songbook, Brown – who joined the ancestors in 2012 at 75 – was most noted as a pioneer of the distinctly DC rhythmic tradition known as Go-Go, a subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns and live audience call & response, delivered by his band The Soul Searchers.  The Chuck Brown Band explosively carries on the Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers go-go tradition across a similarly ambitious range of styles as exemplified by the Godfather of Go-Go.​

THE WHARF

Kenny Barron is one of the most multi-faceted, complimentary pianists in modern music.  He is at home whether accompanying jazz greats, leading his own bands, or performing solo.  His contributions are always distinctively rewarding.  Born and raised in the jazz crucible of Philadelphia, Kenny was playing with the likes of NEA Jazz Master saxophonists Jimmy Heath and Yusef Lateef while still a high schooler.  Thereafter he matriculated through the bands of NEA Jazz Masters James Moody, Lou Donaldson, Roy Haynes, and later spent five productive years on the road with Dizzy Gillespie.  Among Kenny’s career highlights are also tours and recordings – whether in quartet or duo settings – with saxophonist Stan Getz.  For over 25 years Kenny taught at Rutgers University, and he currently teaches at the Juilliard School of Music.  Barron’s current record is the solo essay The Source, which launched the Artwork label.

ARENA STAGE

A heartfelt tribute to the centennial legacy of saxophonist Sonny Stitt, celebrating his profound impact on jazz and personal influence as a loving father. Composed by Stitt himself and reflecting his sentimentality towards his hometown, the project underscores his enduring presence in the jazz community and the lasting impression he left on his daughter, who now carries on his musical legacy as a curator, producer, oral historian, and manager. His contributions to jazz and his cherished role as a father are honored and celebrated, ensuring that his remarkable spirit continues to inspire future generations of musicians and enthusiasts alike.

THE WHARF

Corcoran Holt is a 2024 DC JazzFest artist-in-residence; a son of DC and a proud graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where he is part of a distinctive jazz bass legacy.  His bass study began with the renowned DC Youth Orchestra.  From there he matriculated at Shenandoah Conservatory.  As a professional he has graced a number of auspicious bandstands, including the bands of NEA Jazz Masters Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Cobb, Slide Hampton,  Delfeayo Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Donald Harrison, and more recently he has been a longstanding member of Kenny Garrett’s bands.

THE WHARF

Amy K. Bormet is a pianist, vocalist and composer.  A graduate of DC’s Duke Ellington School for the Arts, she earned a Jazz Studies Piano Performance degree from the University of Michigan.  Inspired by her U of M professor and mentor Geri Allen, she later earned her MFA in Jazz Studies at Howard University.  She is the founder of the annual Washington Women in Jazz Festival, which began in 2011.

UNION STAGE

Next Jazz Legacy is a national apprenticeship program for women and non-binary improvisers in jazz with the intersection of gender and race as a guiding principle. The mission of Next Jazz Legacy is to increase opportunities for musicians most underrepresented in the art form and to create waves of lasting change that benefit the whole community.

Next Jazz Legacy invests in its awardees through a comprehensive support package that includes intergenerational apprenticeships and mentorship, showcases, cohort learning, and a grant that contributes to awardees’ creative and professional development.

Next Jazz Legacy is a partnership between New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, with funding from the Mellon Foundation and Joe & Nancy Walker. GRAMMY-winning artist and NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington is the program’s Artistic Director.

THE WHARF

Clovis Nicholas is a New York-based French bassist whose playing has been hailed by none other than premier bass master Ron Carter as possessing “A very, very good bass sound.”  A native of the Ivory Coast raised in France, he graduated from the Conservatory of Music of Marseilles in 1996 and soon after settled in Paris.  He rose to first-call bassist status, performing with such artists as Brad Mehldau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Vincent Herring, and Michel Legrand.  After relocating to New York in ’02 he has performed at venues ranging from Smoke Jazz Club and Dizzy’s Club to the Blue Note and the Kenned Center.  He studied at the Juilliard School under Ron Carter and was the inaugural recipient of the Ron Carter Scholarship Award.  For his DCJF performance Clovis will be joined by the fast-rising trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, pianist Simon Premazzi, and Washington, DC native Kush Abadey on drums.

THE WHARF

Galactic is an American funk band flavored by its city of origin – New Orleans.  Its founding members, guitarist Jeff Raines and bassist Robert Mercurio, are childhood chums from Chevy Chase, MD who moved to the Crescent City to attend Tulane and Loyola Universities, where they became immersed in the funk scene exemplified by The Meters, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and inspired by legendary piano polymath Professor Longhair.  Galactic draws its influence from a broad cross-section of styles, including rock, funk, brass bands, blues, jazz hip-hop, and electronica.  Deep in the jam band sound, Galactic has released over a dozen albums.​

THE WHARF

Cimafunk is Afro-Cuban vocalist-bandleader Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodriguez.  The Cuban musician is known for mixing funk and hip hop with Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean music in an explosive mix that threatens to blow the roof off whatever venue Cimafunk inhabits.  While pursuing medical school in his hometown of Pinar del Rio, the siren call of music became too strong to resist and Cimafunk was born.  The New Yorker magazine has since likened him to an Afro-Cuban descendant of the James Brown tradition.  In Fall 2021 Cimafunk released the album El Alimento, subsequently nominated as Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the 65th annual Grammy Awards.  The recording featured guest appearances by among others, space-funk legend George Clinton, as well as Lupe Fiasco, and CeeLo Green.

THE WHARF

Bobby Sanabria (Multiverse Big Band) is a drummer and fluent multiple percussion from Bronx, NY, a composer-arranger and leader of several ensembles.  His current vehicle is the Multiverse Big Band, a large ensemble with prominent vocal elements.  He is a published music journalist and the weekly radio show host on Latin music at WBGO, the New York  metro area’s jazz station.  Vox Humana, the most recent release of the Multiverse Big Band, was nominated for a 2024 Grammy Award.

THE WHARF

​Kris Davis Diatom Ribbons: She is a pianist and composer who is part of the growing cadre of highly productive women jazz artists from Canada.  Davis discovered jazz in high school and “By the 8th grade I knew I wanted to be a jazz musician.”  In 2019 Kris began working as instructor and assistant director at Berklee College of Music’s Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, where she has collaborated musically and educationally with Terri Lyne Carrington.  Davis’ 2019 record Diatom Ribbons was cited by both the New York Times and the NPR Music Jazz Critic’s Poll as album of the year.  Her co-led album with Carrington, New Standards Vol. 1 won a Grammy Award.

ARENA STAGE

B.J. Simmons has a broad musical pallet that has found his saxophone in-demand on hip hop, R&B, blues, gospel and African music settings.  But jazz is his heartbeat expression as he strives create “…a new body of work” for those experiencing his art of the improvisors, where he has incorporated his diverse experiences, balanced with his instrumental prowess and his search for new audiences.  His work also includes a distinctive grade school jazz education profile.

THE WHARF

Dianne Reeves was raised in Denver and achieved some early artistic serendipity when while performing with her high school jazz band at a convention in Chicago she impressed trumpet master and mentor to many, Clark Terry.  He invited her to sing with some of his all-star bands where she listened intensely to the close interactions of the musicians.  After studying at the University of Colorado she moved to Los Angeles, recording with Stanley Turrentine, Lenny White, Billy Childs and the Latin Jazz fusion outfit Caldera.  From her 1987 Blue Note Records debut, ahe has gone on to cop five Grammy Awards and an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship in 2018.  Ms. Reeves’ DCJF ’24 band will include pianist John Beasley, guitarist Romero Lubambo, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Terreon Gully.

ARENA STAGE

Ron Carter is among the most influential bassists in jazz, holding a Guinness World Record for recording over 2,200 albums. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet, contributing to iconic jazz records such as "Speak No Evil," "Maiden Voyage," and "Miles Smiles." After leaving the quintet, Carter embarked on a prolific 60-year freelance career, recording with artists across various genres including Roberta Flack, Billy Joel, and A Tribe Called Quest. As a bandleader, he continues to tour globally with his ensembles like The Foursight Quartet and The Golden Striker Trio. An accomplished author, Carter has penned multiple books on bass technique and his autobiography "Finding the Right Notes." Additionally, he has served as a distinguished educator at numerous institutions, including the City College of New York and the Juilliard School. Carter's contributions extend to film scoring and appearances, with a PBS documentary "Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes" released in 2022 highlighting his life and work.​

THE WHARF

Brandee Younger is the contemporary keeper of the flame for an instrument very rare in jazz and the annals of improvised music, the harp.  As such she is the current most prominent descendant of Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, the two most prominent harpists in jazz history.  Brandee’s experience on bandstands and in recording studios has ranged from NEA Jazz Masters Pharoah Sanders, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, and Reggie Workman, to pop and hip hop artists Lauryn Hill, John Legend, Drake, Maxwell, and The Roots.  A native of Long Island, NY she earned undergrad degrees at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford.  Her current album is the much-acclaimed Brand New Life, her second for the Impulse! Label. 

THE WHARF

Bill Frisell is a guitar master born in Baltimore and raised in Denver, who has evolved a truly singular technique and sound on his instrument.  He originally studied at the University of Northern Colorado, eventually matriculating his music studies at Berklee College of Music.  He impressed Pat Metheny, who unable to make a recording session, recommended Frisell to drummer-bandleader Paul Motian for his ECM session.  Eventually Frisell became ECM’s in-house guitarist throughout the 1980s.  His first release was 1983’s In Line.  From there Frisell has become a prolific recording and touring artist, along the way collaborating with myriad artists across musical genres – including with the great bass master Ron Carter and leading bands of multiple flavors.  He won a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for Unspeakable.  Currently he records for the Blue Note label, his latest album titled Four, introduces the quartet he’ll lead at DCJF.

THE WHARF

New Jazz Underground won first prize in the 2023 DCJazzPrix emerging bands competition.  Consisting of Abdias Armenteros on saxophones, Sebastian Rios on bass, and TJ Reddick on drums, the trio first met as students at the Juilliard School.  They began playing in New York City parks during the pandemic, where they established a name and a sound through pop-up performances.  Thereafter they began posting videos on their YouTube channel, where their subscriber base has grown to over 85K, creating a new standard for jazz presentation through their online videos.

ARENA STAGE

Muneer Nasser is a trumpeter and bandleader who holds a business degree from Howard University.  As a recording artist he has documented his work on A Soldier’s Story.  He is also an author, whose book Upright Bass chronicles the life & legacy of his late father, bassist Jamil Nasser, who played with many of the greats.

UNION STAGE

Joonas Haavisto is a Finnish pianist and composer who is one of the most exciting young musicians from the Nordic jazz scene.  He started his pursuit of music at the age of seven on bass and voice, experiencing his first jazz piano lessons at the age of 16.  In 2005 he achieved a scholarship to study at the University of Miami, Frost School of Music.  In the fall of 2004 he made his debut with Finland’s finest, the renowned UMO Jazz Orchestra.  More recently he has made his mark on club, concert and festival stages with his Joonas Haavisto Trio, where news of their prowess has garnered favorable reviews as far afield as Japan’s classic Swing Journal magazine.