Labor Day Weekend festival brings jazz legends, rising stars, and hometown talent to Washington, DC, September 2–6, 2026 WASHINGTON, DC — The DC Jazz Festival (DCJF) today announced major additions to the 2026 DC JazzFest lineup: GRAMMY-winning drummer Nate Smith, NEA Jazz Masters Donald Harrison and Amina Claudine Myers, and a dynamic slate of DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) artists joining a powerhouse roster that includes Dee Dee Bridgewater, Joshua Redman, Kurt Elling & Yellowjackets,...

By Jason Toney It hasn’t happened to me recently, but late last year, my regular Saturday morning ritual of exploring new music was often derailed by self-published, artificial sound-alikes. Most times, I sensed artifice in seconds and moved on, but occasionally, I’d tap along a while before questioning what I was hearing. In each instance, I left disappointed and deflated by AI-generated music. There’s a lot of concern about the impact of artificial intelligence on our lives today. I’ve...

by Willard Jenkins, DC JazzFest Artistic Director DC JazzFest 2026 will once again deliver a veritable cornucopia of jazz flavors and vivid colors, presenting a tantalizing bounty of the music that makes 21 st century jazz an evolving, multi-stylistic expression. As an international jazz festival, one of our primary responsibilities is to showcase an appealing and mind-expanding range of the stylistic nuances that make jazz such a broad and vibrant art form, including presenting various...