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Celebrate all things jazz in DC from Sept. 2-6
The uniquely family-oriented festival offers tickets for as low as $25 for shows throughout Labor Day weekend. Multiple GRAMMY and TONY-award winning song stylist Dee Dee Bridgewater and multiple GRAMMY Award winner Kurt Elling will bring their universally acclaimed artistry to The Wharf, as will multi-GRAMMY nominee Joshua Redman, one of the true signature voices of 21st century jazz saxophone. You can also catch Butcher Brown, Marshall Keys and Soulful Path and Corcoran Holt at Anthem Row Downtown on Sept. 3, free all day long.
Jazz music has deeply influenced and been a life force for so many genres, and DC JazzFest 2026 will present many of those flavors of modern music. Several performances will pay homage to three grandmasters in their centennial birth year: John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Randy Weston. Kurt Elling & The Yellowjackets honor the legacy of Weather Report, while Twenty Feet from Stardom songbird Lisa Fischer extends the Great American Songbook. You can also check out rapidly emerging Howard University/Afro Blue alum Ekep Nkwelle, bassist Luke Stewart's Silt Trio and young Blue Note Records trumpet sensation Brandon Woody.
Credit: Josh Brown
Plenty of concerts will help you find your groove. Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles are must-see, and there's also the go-go force of the Chuck Brown Band. Special guest NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Big Chief Donald Harrison will bring the spirit of Congo Square to the DC JazzFest stage. Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles & Creole Soul will embody the true spirit of Caribbean Carnival as well.
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NEA Jazz Masters Dee Dee Bridgewater, Big Chief Donald Harrison and Amina Claudine Myers will all perform at this year's festival. The state of jazz guitar artistry will be well represented by the peerless virtuosity of Bill Frisell. The diverse pianist-bandleader Orrin Evans Trio welcomes Ms. Lisa Fischer as a featured vocalist. Jazz Legacies Fellow pianist-composer Michelle Rosewoman will reprise her critically acclaimed Quintessence project. Perennial fan favorite pianist Emmet Cohen returns, this time as DCJF 2026 Artist-in-Residence. He'll perform on the mainstage with his band and will lead the festival's ever-popular jam session.
The festival welcomes rapidly emerging jazz artists such as the sensational drummer-bandleader Nate Smith, DC’s own bassist Ben Williams’ Band, saxophonist Isaiah Collier, pianist Jose Andre, vocalist Shacara Rogers and violinist Chelsey Green. The 2026 DC JazzPrix Finals are also not to be missed. The perennial SRO DC JazzFest event showcases the best in young talent and will once again take place at Union Stage on The Wharf on Saturday, Sept. 5.
DC JazzFest takes pride in reflecting the enduring global impact of jazz as a universal music with flavors from across the globe. International performers include Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez, Swedish flutist Elsa Nilsson, Korean saxophonist Pureum Jin, Czech guitarist Vilem Spilka, French singer Laura Anglade, Lithuanian pianist Domas Žeromskas and Venezuelan pianist Fran Vielma. They're calling it a "Mini-EU Fest" thanks to DC Jazz Festival’s partnership with the European Union.
This year includes performances by DCJF ’26 Artist-in-Residence pianist Janelle Gill, who will welcome NEA Jazz Master Amina Claudine Myers to her stage. The members of resident ensemble the JazzDC All-Stars will perform under the direction of saxophonist and master DMV jazz educator Paul Carr, the man dubbed the “Dean” of DC Jazz. You can also see pianist-educator Allyn Johnson, drummer-bandleader Nasar Abadey’s SUPERNOVA, trumpeter Kenny Rittenhouse, saxophonist-flutist Charles Rahmat Woods, pianist Alfred Yun, big man around town Felix Contreras and the exciting salseros Son Cubano Subterraneo.
DC JazzFest offers exclusive Q&A interview and engagement opportunities with artists throughout the festival’s run as part of its Meet the Artist program. This year includes a fan favorite: a live DownBeat Magazine Blindfold Test. Get up close and personal with jazz luminaries at Arena Stage during Wharf Weekend.
Discover the next generation of jazz artistry on three youth performance stages at The Wharf. Get your dance on at the DJ stage and don’t forget to sign-up for the DC JazzFest 2026 Scavenger Hunt. Young patrons can win great prizes!
The United States Congress officially declared jazz an American “National Treasure” in 1987. This Labor Day Weekend, you can immerse yourself in the classic American art form and all of its many colors, historical permutations and incredible extensions.
