Jazz in the Basement is a monthly concert series featuring local jazz artists, organized by the DC Public Library and curated by Bertrand Uberall and John Cook. The concerts are intended to highlight young artists, new composers, or unique jazz sounds to broaden the listening landscape of our Washington, DC audiences. DC Public Library is a proud supporter of our local music community and looks forward to expanding valuable resources to assist musicians in their creative and professional endeavors.
This April, we celebrate local jazz hero Duke Ellington’s 120th birthday with beloved performer and educator, Davey Yarborough. This concert is made possible by Blues Alley, the DC Federation of Musicians, the DC Public Library, and the Goethe-Institut Washington.
Admission for the concert is free; limited seating is available on a first come, first served basis.
RSVP
Davey Yarborough (saxophone/flute) a native of Washington, DC, is a recording artist and educator whose impressive musical career has taken two distinct paths – those of accomplished performer and dedicated educator. Earning bachelor and master’s degrees in education and performance, his university studies were augmented by studies on flute with the venerable Frank Weiss and on saxophone with the legendary Sonny Stitt. As a performer, composer, and arranger, he has worked with Sir Roland Hanna, Keter Betts, Billy Eckstine, Buck Hill, Shirley Horn, Lena Horne, and Joe Williams, to name a few.
As an educator, he returned to his alma mater, the University of the District of Columbia, as music instructor and director of the Jazz Stage Band. In 1986, Davey was recruited to create the jazz orchestra at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts in Washington, DC, and built what is now an internationally recognized Jazz Studies program and Jazz orchestra “The New Washingtonians.” It is there at Ellington that Davey nurtured and mentored aspiring performers in this legacy. He received the coveted 1998 Mayor’s Arts Award in Washington, DC, for Excellence in Dedication to the Arts. The Washington Jazz Arts Institute, under his directorship, is a natural extension of his legacy of education and mentoring. As Artistic Director and Founder, Davey has guided this organization to be a conduit to the underserved population while keeping the music alive.
A dynamic lecturer, Davey conceived and presented the Smithsonian Institution’s Jazz Evenings for Young Professionals lecture series. An overwhelming success, that project led to his Journey into Jazz, which covers the history of jazz by combining a performance and lecture format. Davey and the legendary Sir Roland Hanna collaborated on JazzMont Records on a compilation of original compositions, and Duke Ellington’s music, coinciding with Duke’s 100th birthday in April 1999. “Royal Essence,” An Evening of Ellington, is an important, historic project in this genre of music.
Source Material: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Performing with Yarborough will be:
Jon Ozment, piano
Ephraim Woolfolk, bass
Greg Holloway, percussion
Isaac Daniel, guitar
Blues Alley, founded in 1965, is a jazz nightclub in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC. Countless jazz, soul, R&B, and legends have performed at the club, including Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Roland Hanna, Stan Getz, Wynton Marsalis, Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennett, Charlie Byrd, and more. Musicians who have recorded a Live at Blues Alley album include Eva Cassidy, Dizzy Gillespie (featuring local tenor saxophonist Ron Holloway), Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, Wynton Marsalis, Stanley Turrentine, and Grover Washington Jr. Blues Alley also has a non-profit jazz arm, the Blues Alley Jazz Society, dedicated to jazz education and outreach for young performers in the local area. Education and outreach programs include the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra and Blues Alley Jazz Summer Camp.
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