D.C.’s Annual Jazz Festival Unveils 2010 Season

March 5, 2010 — The DC Jazz Festival, formerly the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, announced its 2010 season, scheduled for June 1 - 13, 2010, featuring a stellar line-up of artists from around the globe.  The festival will include such celebrated artists as Dianne Reeves, Eddie Palmieri, Poncho Sanchez, Roy Hargrove, James Moody, our ubiquitous artistic director, nine-time Grammy winner Paquito D’Rivera, the Berklee College All-stars, and many others. The eclectic program will include a number of international artists including Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi; Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda; Rumanian pianist Marian Petrescu; Swedish guitarist Andres Oberg; and Israeli saxophonist Uri Gurvich; as well as the Berklee College of Music All-stars, Cuban/American teen piano sensation Tony Madruga, and many others.

The festival will also premiere a National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces-commissioned program highlighting the “Latin Side” of the music of Jelly Roll Morton.  Arranged and directed by Michael Philip Mossman, the concert, at and in partnership with the Kennedy Center, will feature DCJF co-artistic director Paquito D’Rivera, the chamber ensemble Quartette Indigo, Mossman (on trumpet) and percussionist Pernell Saturnino.

“We are delighted that this year’s festival will once again present locally, nationally and internationally renowned artists who reflect the vibrancy and diversity of jazz and of our nation's capital," stated DC Jazz Festival executive producer Charles Fishman.

With an attendance of 100,000 and performances in nearly 50 venues in 2009, the DCJF is the largest music festival in the nation’s capital. This year’s festival will feature dazzling performances at the Kennedy Center, the Carter Barron Amphitheatre, the Lincoln Theatre, The Phillips Collection, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, the 6th and I Synagogue, DC Jewish Community Center, THEARC, the Atlas Performing Arts Center, and the National Portrait Gallery as well as the highly popular Jazz in the ‘Hoods   program.  With performances at more than 30 jazz clubs, hotels, and restaurants across the city, Washington, D.C. will exude the excitement, diversity and richness of jazz, our nation’s singular original art form. 

Following the tremendous success of last year’s events, DCJF changed its name to highlight the national and international impact of presenting the festival in the nation’s capital.

Education is also a major component of DCJF, and the festival has expanded its programming to reflect this commitment. DCJF will offer free student concerts and master classes that will serve thousands of D.C.-area students at THEARC Performing Arts Center, Sitar Arts Center, the Atlas Performing Arts Center.  A signature family-friendly program, Jazz ‘n Families Fun Day, will offer concerts and entertaining family-oriented activities, in partnership with The Phillips Collection.

Proud major sponsors and partners, to date, include Patton Boggs, LLP; Microsoft Corporation; National Endowment for the Arts; Renaissance Dupont Circle Hotel; ABC-TV/WJLA/News Channel 8; The Washington Post; the Washington City Paper, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; the National Education Association Foundation; Radio One; Coors Foundation, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; Bacardi; and Amtrak, among others.   

2010 DCJF Festival: Festival “KEY” Event Schedule

June 2-3
Jazz on the Potomac Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

June 1-13
Jazz in the ‘Hoods: Over 80 shows in 30+ in clubs, restaurants, and hotels

June 3
Jazz at the Portrait Gallery featuring Marshall Keys

June 4
Jazz in the Garden (National Gallery of Art)  featuring the Berklee College All-Stars

June 5-6
Jazz ‘n Families Fun Days – co-presented and at The Phillips Collection; part of the 27th Annual Dupont-Kalorama Museum Walk Weekend, featuring jazz artists Brian Lund, George V. Johnson, Janelle Gill, and other showcasing ten museums in the historic Dupont Circle and Kalorama neighborhoods with FREE admission and activities for the whole family all weekend long.

June 8
Rising Star performance 6^th and I Historic Synagogue, “Resonance Records Pays Tribute to Oscar Peterson,” featuring Marian Petrescu & Andreas Oberg

June 9
Rising Star performance at the DC Jewish Community Center featuring Uri Gurvich

June 10
NEA Jazz Masters Live Concert at the Lincoln Theatre with an all-star tribute to NEA Jazz Master James Moody

June 12
Jazz on the National Mall: Eddie Palmieri, Claudio Roditi, Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove

June 11
Jazz at the Carter Barron featuring Poncho Sanchez and jazz harpist Edmar Castaneda;

June 15
Closing Concert, “Jelly Roll Morton: The Latin Tinge,” a National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces concert featuring 10-time Grammy winner Paquito D’Rivera and Quartette Indigo

June 5-9
DCJF Master Classes/Student Concerts: Enriching Educational Programs at the THEARC Performing Arts Center in Anacostia, Sitar Arts Center in Adams Morgan, and the Atlas Performing Arts Center on the H Street corridor for more than one thousand DCPS and DC charter school students.

About the DC Jazz Festival:  With more than 100 performances in dozens of venues across the city, the DC Jazz Festival is the largest music festival in Washington, D.C. and has become one of the most highly-anticipated cultural events in the nation’s capital. The Festival presents year-round music programs and performances by local, national and internationally-known artists, promotes music integration in school curricula and actively supports community outreach to expand and diversify the audience of jazz enthusiasts. For more information about DC Jazz Festival and our upcoming programs, visit www.dcjazzfest.org.