Bass players are abundant at the upcoming DC JazzFest! Eight-time GRAMMY-Award winning bassist Christian McBride and NEA Jazz Master Ron Carter are among the headliners at the 18th Annual DC JazzFest, taking place from August 31 through September 4 with DC JazzFest at The Wharf on September 3-4, over Labor Day Weekend. 

Ron Carter, who also excels at the cello and as a distinctive composer and bandleader, is the certified most recorded bass player in the history of recorded music. The recipient of a 1998 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship, Carter has performed and recorded with a staggering array of artists across multiple genres. He first came to great prominence as a member of Miles Davis’ famed mid-sixties “second great quintet”.

Christian McBride has been called “one of the premier musicians of his generation” by DownBeat Magazine. Powered by a relentless energy and a boundless love of swing, McBride’s path has described a continuous positive arc since his arrival on the scene. Entering the third decade of his career, the Philadelphia-born bassist is one of the most sought after jazz figures in the world today.

This blockbuster DC JazzFest weekend will also include performances from Mambo Legends Orchestra, NAACP Image Award winner The Baylor Project; Canadian drummer Larnell Lewis, a regular drummer in the popular band Snarky Puppy, fast-emerging steel pan artist Joy Lapps-Lewis, French saxophonist Patrick Zimmerli, the Haitian ensemble Vox Sambou, and 2021 DCJazzPrix winners Bahamian trumpeter Giveton Gelin and Cuban pianist-keyboardist Dayramir Gonzalez, among others.

DC JazzFest will be hosted at The Wharf, DC’s premier waterfront neighborhood and destination. Located on a lovely stretch of the historic Potomac River, The Wharf is full of scintillating restaurants and clubs, vibrant retail, and first-class hotels and offices. The neighborhood’s monumental views and bustling riverside promenade are accessible by nearby Metro service, highway, and water taxi service.

“This year’s DCJF lineup boasts a fertile, intriguing range of what makes jazz music an international phenomenon, from established masters in the classic jazz tradition, to ever-inquisitive boundary-breakers, to exciting emerging talents, and some of the DC Metro region’s finest,” said DCJF Artistic Director Willard Jenkins.

The largest jazz festival in the nation’s capital, the 18th Annual DC JazzFest will feature a robust lineup of performers – from local legends to NEA Jazz Masters – with concerts across several venues. This year’s Festival experiences will include in-person performances, up-close-and-personal “Meet the Artist” conversations, and indoor performances at Arena Stage and Union Stage including the DCJazzPrix international emerging jazz band competition Finals live at Union Stage at The Wharf.

The 2022 DC JazzFest Lineup, to date, includes:

Christian McBride ● Dianne Reeves ● Ron Carter ● Regina Carter ● Orrin Evans ● Captain Black Big Band ● Cindy Blackman Santana ● Mambo Legends Orchestra ● The Baylor Project ● Emmet Cohen Trio ● Vox Sambou ● Patrick Zimmerli (w/ Chris Potter ● EJ Strickland) ● Heidi Martin ● Donvonte McCoy ● Letter One/Rising Star guitarist Dan Wilson ● Larnell Lewis Quintet w/ Joy Lapps-Lewis ● Chien Chien Lu ● 2021 DCJazzPrix co-winners Giveton Gelin Quintet and Dayramir Gonzalez & Habana enTRANCE ● The 8^th Annual DCJazzPrix Finals: Akua Allrich & The Tribe, Jalen Baker Quartet, and Julieta Eugenio Trio.

For more information about the 2022 DC JazzFest, August 31-September 4, including concert updates and ticketing information, visit www.dcjazzfest.org. Tickets for the DC JazzFest at The Wharf can be purchased: here