DC Jazz Festival Announces 2025 DCJazzPrix™ Finalists

DCJF’s incomparable international band competition celebrates its 10th year

of recognizing and supporting top emerging jazz ensembles

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 3, 2025 — The DC Jazz Festival® (DCJF) today announced the four bands selected as the 2025 DCJazzPrix™ Finalists, all of whom will perform on Saturday, August 30, 2025 during the 10th Annual DCJazzPrix Finals at Union Stage, part of the 2025 DC JazzFest. The four 2025 DCJazzPrix finalist bands are:

Friendship (New York, NY): Led by Canadian pianist Jenny Xu, the band features bassist Ben Friedman (Roswell, GA) and drummer Kofi Shepsu (Richmond, VA).

José Luiz Martins (São Paulo, Brazil): Led by pianist-keyboardist José Luiz Martins, the band includes flautist-vocalist Alex Hamburger (Silver Spring, MD), bassist Romeir Mendez (Baltimore, MD) and drummer Dana Hawkins (Baltimore, MD).

Dave Meder New American Hymnal Quartet (Denton, TX): Led by pianist Dave Meder, the band includes trumpeter Philip Dizak (Denton, TX), bassist Marty Jaffe (New York, NY) and drummer Michael Piolet (Chicago, IL).  

The Smoogies (Delray Beach, FL): The band features keyboardist-vocalist Vaughn Henry (Miami, FL), bassist Dion Kerr (Delray Beach, FL) and the double drums of David Chiverton (Miami, FL) and Harvel Nakundi (Miami, FL). 

DCJazzPrix is a unique international competition created to recognize and support top emerging jazz band talent. Launched in 2016, DCJazzPrix has since received a rapidly growing and diverse applicant response from more than 20 countries. This year’s Jury considered a highly competitive pool of applicants, evaluating these gifted bands on their artistic quality and merit when selecting the finalists.

Each band will receive benefits associated with a major jazz festival performance opportunity, and the finalists will compete live during the DCJazzPrix Finals at Union Stage as part of DC JazzFest at The Wharf on Saturday, August 30. Along with gaining significant exposure, including a mainstage performance at DC JazzFest 2026, the winning band will receive a $15,000 grand prize and begin a yearlong association with the DC Jazz Festival to include a customized business development and career technical assistance consultancy, as well as extensive publicity.

“Join us at the 2025 DC JazzFest for the 10th annual DCJazzPrix finals as we recognize four vibrant and talented bands who represent the next generation of jazz ensembles,” said DCJF CEO Sunny Sumter. “DCJazzPrix is all about celebrating that most essential unit of jazz expression, the working band. DCJazzPrix supports jazz artists in developing their bands comprehensively, expanding performance opportunities, and sustaining their collective creativity.”

For press inquiries or requests for information, contact Lydia Liebman, DCJF publicist, at lydia@lydialiebmanpromotions.com. 

Learn more about the DC Jazz Festival and all of our programs by visiting dcjazzfest.org.

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DCJF Media Contact:

Lydia Liebman, Publicist

lydia@lydialiebmanpromotions.com

DCJF Contacts:

Sunny Sumter, President and CEO

sunnysumter@dcjazzfest.org

Josh Brown, Marketing & Communications

josh@dcjazzfest.org

Keep up with DCJF:

·       Twitter: @dcjazzfest

·       Facebook: facebook.com/dcjazzfest

·       Instagram: @dcjazzfest

·       LinkedIn: DC Jazz Festival

·       Everything Else: linktr.ee/dcjazzfest

The DCJazzPrix program is made possible by the generous support of The Leonard and Elaine Silverstein Family Foundation. The DCJazzPrix prize is made possible by the generous support of the Gillon Charitable Fund and the Galena-Yorktown Foundation.