June stands for jazz all over the nation’s capital. The DC Jazz Festival continues to host the finest performers in the best venues large and small. While Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage premiers world jazz, the summer nights sizzle in the Mansion at Strathmore. Thursday night, the Festival presents DC Choro, players of the finest Brazilian-style choro, a genre of music that emerged from Rio de Janeiro similar to America’s ragtime. This group is defined by their swinging rhythms, intricate melodies and rich harmony. In addition to choro, they make the music of forro, a Brazilian accordion and bass drum dance beat.
Friday evening, the Millennium Stage hosts Cheick Hamala Diabate, a West African historian in the Griot tradition and world-recognized master of the ngoni, a Malian traditional instrument. All Millennium Stage performances are free of charge.
