Music of Washington, D.C.

Later figures include jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Rouse, Buck Hill, Ron Holloway, Davey Yarborough, Michael A. Thomas, Butch Warren, and DeAndrey Howard; soul musicians, including Billy Stewart, The Unifics, The Moments, Ray, Goodman & Brown, Van McCoy, The Presidents, The Choice Four, Vernon Burch, guitarist Charles Pitts (OST "Shaft", 1971), and Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul.

Skip Pitts played the famous riffs on Isaac Hayes's OST "Shaft", R&B singer Ruth Brown, Billy Stewart, doo-wop groups The Orioles (based out of District of Columbia, though from Baltimore), The Clovers, The Rainbows, By the middle of the 1960s, District of Columbia had begun to produce some major stars, like soul singer Marvin Gaye, who had 3 No.

Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, childhood friends from the District, moved to San Francisco, playing in Jefferson Airplane during their height of their success before forming Hot Tuna.

In the modern era, the District features several independently-established symphonic choruses, along with a very wide variety of mid-size choirs, chamber ensembles, and specialty groups.

[4] The present, entirely unrelated company of the same name, resident at the Kennedy Center, was known simply as the Washington Opera until 2000; a thoroughly professional organization under the direction of Plácido Domingo, it has, among other achievements, been a rare advocate for zarzuela in the United States.

There has been substantial overlap between Washington, D.C.'s folk and bluegrass scene in the past several decades, in part due to the patronage of disc jockeys at public radio station WAMU, including Mary Cliff, longtime host of the music show Traditions.

By the mid-1950s, Hamilton Arms was hosting "poetry readings, live music performances, art shows, movies, green tea (marijuana), and sometimes even coffee.

[7] In January 1961, the Unicorn Cafe Expresso was opened at 1710 17th Street NW, featuring abstract art, coffee, poetry readings, and music.

Two of the members, John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, became The Lovin' Spoonful, and the other two, Denny Doherty and Cass Elliott, formed The Mamas & the Papas.

[9] Jazz great Jelly Roll Morton came from New Orleans, but took up residency in Washington as a regular performer at a club called the Jungle Inn in 1935.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines walking tours that include the jazz venues where the greats such as Ella Fitzgerald performed, Duke Ellington's childhood homes, and other music-related places in the neighborhood.

During the second half of the 20th century until the mid-1990s, a period that saw decline on U Street, jazz became associated with longtime venues in the Georgetown area such as Blues Alley and One Step Down; closer to the heart of the District was dc space.

[11] A singer in multiple genres, Cassidy also notably performed a crossover album with District of Columbia go-go artist Chuck Brown (see below).

Ron began playing saxophone at an early age one of his first music experience was with The El Corols, where he met another great DC saxophonist, Carter Jefferson.

In the mid-1970s, Holloway expanded his practice of sitting in and more and more he was heard sharing the stage with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie.

Known for his versatility he has toured and recorded with a wide array of musical artists including Gillespie, Scott-Heron, Root Boy Slim, Little Feat, the Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi.

), The Moments,[13] The Unifics, Peaches & Herb, Terry Huff & Special Delivery,[14] Act 1, The Dynamic Superiours, Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul, Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, Van McCoy, The Presidents, Anacostia, Vernon Burch, Ray, Goodman & Brown, True Reflection, The Unifics, Peaches & Herb, Act 1, The Dynamic Superiors, Skip Mahoaney & the Casuals, Dyson's Face, Bobby Thurston, Charles Pitts (OST "Shaft", 1971), The Choice Four, The Fuzz, Dane Riley, and Billy Stewart were from Washington, D.C. 1980s funk bands such as Osiris, Wax, Waldo, Tyrone Brunson influenced go-go bands.

Central Heat, an East Coast touring R&B band based out of Northern Virginia originated in the late 1970s and features founding members Doug and Dennis Flynn, Mike Cavaliere and Bob Costlow.

It is a blend of funk, R&B, and latin music, with a focus on lo-fi percussion instruments and melodic jamming in place of dance tracks, although some sampling is used.

MacKaye went on to co-found Fugazi, which attained international recognition under the Dischord record label, alongside Rites of Spring guitarist Guy Picciotto.

Currently, important post-punk/indie/dance-rock bands like Supersystem (formerly El Guapo), Medications, Metrorail, Maritime, Edie Sedgwick, Mass Movement of the Moth, The Fordists, and Beauty Pill hail from DC.

Representing the street-oriented side of hip-hop, District of Columbia-bred rapper Garvey "The Chosen One" released his debut album Hard Hat Area Volume#1, on independent record label Triple Team Entertainment and distributed by DTLR.

In 2010 he managed to get his music into the hands of an A&R over at Slip-n-Slide Records which did nothing for his career until 2012 when he landed a spread in Kapital Magazine alongside Kendrick Lamar, Drumma Boy, and fellow DC rapper Wale, who of which Jonez has never met before.

In 2013 Pharaoh Jonez signed a management contract with Lawrence Mooney, CEO of Chocolate Mint and longtime friend of "Freeway" Rick Ross.

[20] The District of Columbia, is also the home of multi-instrumentalist, producer, and synthesist Jeff Bragg, whose work spans over four decades, beginning with his residency as director of the University of Virginia's electronic music studio in the mid-1970s.

Anaud Strong is a premier dance-house, soul, r&b-funk, gospel international recording artist, remixer, singer-songwriter, producer and digital dj, born and raised in the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Artists from District of Columbia area's premiere dark electronic label Octofoil Records, to include Maduro, Retrogramme, and Notecrusher, have appeared on numerous compilations around the world and have been featured on BBC.

Afro Blue, an a cappella vocal jazz ensemble based at Howard University, received significant national attention when it placed fourth on season three of the television show The Sing Off in 2011.

Eschewing the more esoteric stylings of their art-school peers, bands like Soul Lip, the Hall Monitors, the breakUps, the Have Mercys, the Points, Shark Week, The Fed, and Fellowcraft[21] mine a more primitive vein of rock 'n' roll, finding inspiration in fuzzed-out chords and grooves.

In an effort to celebrate, honor, and uplift creative heroes across the DMV area, The MusicianShip reintroduced and reinvigorated this storied community event, upholding its values, while infusing it with meaningful innovations and a contemporary flare that includes, and enriches, a diverse audience of art enthusiasts.