Jazz In The District: Week of October 14, 2019

Tuesday, October 15

This concert might be a bit of a difficult one for many of us. Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, a thoroughly straight-ahead hard-bop player with a salt-and-vinegar sound on his tenor saxophone, had a regular pianist in his quartet. His name was Harold Mabern, a great and well-traveled jazz veteran from Memphis, and he unexpectedly passed away last month. Alexander had been working with him since he was Mabern’s student at William Paterson University in the early ‘90s. It was a very tight and musically insoluble musical collaboration. That doesn’t mean that this will be a funereal occasion; Alexander is a hell of a player with a finely tuned sense of swing, and he will undoubtedly put on a great performance. But it will almost certainly also serve as a memorial for the saxophonist’s friend and colleague. That’s to be expected—and it’s a reason in itself to go to the show. Eric Alexander performs at 8 and 10 p.m. at 1073 Wisconsin Avenue NW. $25

Friday, October 18

For a very long time, Keter Betts (who passed away in 2005), Butch Warren, and Steve Novosel served as the triple pillars, the elder statesmen, of the D.C. jazz bass tradition. That tradition is one of the richest and longest standing in Washington’s local music, and to be its standard bearer is more than an honor. To have had three—well, that tells you something about the depth of D.C. bass. Eight years after Betts (and six years ago this month), Warren, a veteran of Thelonious Monk’s quartets most prominently, passed away as well. His loss is still keenly felt, and not just among bassists; he was a powerful figure in both symbolic and genuine musical terms. Novosel, the last of these great pillars who is still with us, is the one left to pay tribute to the late Mr. Warren, though he brings with him some of the musicians who most frequently played with him: pianist Peter Edelman, saxophonist Knud Jensen, trumpeter Olivia Brown, and drummer J.C. Jefferson. They perform at 6 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I Street SW. $5

Saturday, October 19

Amy K. Bormet has, since her return last year to D.C. from Los Angeles, only become more badass and determined in her musical aspirations. Bormet is a D.C. native pianist and vocalist who, before she temporarily relocated across the country, had founded the Washington Women in Jazz Festival. She wanted to give talented female jazz musicians (which are legion in the D.C. area) a prominent platform on which to play, and, more importantly, a place in which they could build a community and network. Not only amongst themselves, but with musicians from around the country and even the world. Hence the WWJF has become a remarkably influential force and has brought musicians in from all over to work with D.C.’s own players. Now, this prominent platform is itself being given a prominent platform: the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Amy K. Bormet Trio performs a program entitled The Future is Female at 11 a.m. at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Gallery, 2700 F Street NW. $15

Sunday October 20

Oren Levine plays the prettiest chords. This probably sounds like little much, but it’s not easy to make chords sound pretty. Levine is very, very good at it. He’s so good, in fact, that he makes a habit of it, both as a performer-improviser and as a composer. I suppose it’s perhaps more reasonable to call him a songwriter (some people are very careful to make the distinction between composing and songwriting, though Levine really isn’t), because he loves to work with singers. He even has a favorite: Tony Gudell, a smooth, smart baritone who pairs well with Levine’s lovely harmonies and percussive touch. Levine is also a fan of saxophonists, our own Herb Scott among them, and both Scott and Gudell join him this weekend (as do bassist Mark Saltman and drummer Paul Jung) to bring you the jazz that you damn well deserve. Oren Levine and Friends perform at 6 p.m. at Alice’s Jazz and Cultural Society, 2813 Franklin Street NE. $10