DC Jazz Festival opportunity

We applaud, and want to lend a helping hand to our friends and colleagues at CapitalBop (http://www.capitalbop.com)- erstwhile purveyors of adventurous jazz music in DC loft spaces and major supporters and promoters of Washington, DC’s vibrant jazz scene = are undertaking an ambitious project as part of the forthcoming DC Jazz Festival, which promises to be better than ever this year (http://www.dcjazzfest.org). Dig this…

Hi friends –

We want to let you know about CapitalBop’s exciting plans at the DC Jazz Festival next month. It’s all part of our mission to ensure that D.C.’s vibrant jazz scene retains its rightful place in the creative renaissance that’s underway all across this city. Next month’s second annual D.C. Jazz Loft Series at the DC Jazz Fest is absolutely the most ambitious thing we’ve undertaken in our two years of work – and it stands to cultivate a whole new crop of jazz fans. But we won’t be able to make this happen without your help, which is why we’re asking you to head to our Kickstarter campaign http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/capitalbop/capitalbops-dc-jazz-loft-series-at-the-2012-dc-jaz and check out the video and the awesome rewards we’re offering to supporters. There’s only one week left before time runs out!

Here’s what’s planned for the D.C. Jazz Loft Series: On June 1 and June 2, we’re presenting two double-bill shows, both at alternative venues and both featuring an innovative D.C. band paired with a national ensemble. The next weekend, on June 9, we’re upping the ante with a daylong Jazz Loft MegaFest at a converted loft space in downtown D.C. The MegaFest will feature …
four bands (including Marc Cary’s amazing new future-fusion project, Cosmic Indigenous);
food and drink catered by the Taste of DC;
a pop-up retail shop with vintage clothes and records, organized by SHAM;
specially commissioned art installations by many local artists in a “floating gallery,” also presented by SHAM;
a film screening (Icons Among Us);
a panel on the synthesis of jazz and hip-hop, hosted by Shaolin Jazz.
The MegaFest (flyer below) is our attempt at presenting jazz in a way that it’s never been showcased in this town – a way that’s especially hospitable to younger, artistically curious crowds, while also serving longtime fans of the music. The goal is for this show to offer a range of experiences and “entry points,” so that we can draw in a bunch of people that might not think to go to a jazz show otherwise. We know that once they’re there, they’ll hear the music and be thrilled by it.

Please check out our Kickstarter page, where you’ll find a range of awesome rewards – a downloadable modern-jazz mixtape, signed CDs, a poster autographed by all the series headliners, a private music lesson with the great Todd Marcus, your very own slot as a DJ on WPFW 89.3 FM… the list goes on. If we can just raise another $2,000 in the next week, we’ll have enough to compensate musicians, outfit the venues, and help prove that jazz is relevant and vital to D.C.’s contemporary artistic conversation.

Thanks so much for your support,
Gio and Luke

NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron is one of the featured artists in the 2012 DC Jazz Festival – http://www.dcjazzfest.org
—
Giovanni Russonello
Editor-in-Chief
CapitalBop.com
202.255.0392
editor@capitalbop.com
@capitalbop