DC Jazz Festival presents world-renowned and emerging artists in celebration of jazz; unifies diverse communities; advances jazz and music education with exciting and adventurous musical experiences; shines the spotlight on DC-based musicians; and highlights DC as a premier cultural destination. Our signature programs are the annual DC JazzFest, DC’s largest jazz festival, recognized as a world-class event; Jazz in the ’Hoods with citywide partnerships in 20+ neighborhoods; DC JazzFest at The Wharf, our marquee weekend with free outdoor stages; the year-round DCJF Education Program in partnership with DC public and charter schools and arts centers; the Charles Fishman Embassy Series honoring our founder; and the DCJazzPrix international band competition. DC Jazz Festival won the DC Mayor's Arts Award for Excellence in Creative Industries. The New York Times named DC JazzFest one of "50 Essential Summer Festivals." www.dcjazzfest.org
for 19th Annual DC JazzFest (2023)
MORGAN ENOS
LONDON JAZZ NEWS
Read the complete interview with Willard Jenkins and Sunny Sumpter here.
MATT HOOKE
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
"The diversity on display at the DC Jazz Festival, from its mix of venues that included Rhizome, to the grand festival stages on the piers of the Potomac, made for a memorable four days with something for every music fan." Check out the full review here.
for 18th Annual DC JazzFest (2022)
JOHN MURPH
DOWNBEAT
"Reeves ignited an undeniable rapport with Evans’ Captain Black Big Band in an enthralling performance that one hopes is just the first of more collaborations to come." Read the complete review here.
JACKSON SINNENBERG
DISTRICT FRAY
Read the full interview and feature on DC JazzFest CEO Sunny Sumter here.
SOPHIA BARNES / TOMMY MCFLY
NBC4
Watch the featured news segment here.
MELANIE HASTINGS
WJLA - ABC7
Watch the Washington ABC7 interview with Sunny Sumter here.
AVIVA BECHKY
DISTRICT FRAY
Festival announcement here.
JASON FRALEY
WTOP
Listen to the full interview with Sunny Sumter here.
D. KEVIN MCNEIR
WASHINGTON INFORMER
"One could not help but hear the excitement in Sumter’s voice.." Read the news article here.
TOMMY MCFLY
NBC 4 WASHINGTON - THE SCENE
Watch interviews with Sunny Sumter and Jalen Baker here.
JACKSON SINNENBERG
CAPITAL BOP
Read the Capital Bop Musician guide here.
MAGGIE HICKS AND SOPHIA YOUNG
WASHINGTONIAN
Read the 'Things to Do in the DC Area" article here.
JACKSON SINNENBERG
CAPITAL BOP
Read Capital Bop's Staff Picks for the 18th Annual DC JazzFest here.
SRIRAM GOPAL
DCIST
"The music world is slowly, but surely, making its way out of pandemic-related setbacks and closures, and nowhere is this comeback more evident than with the DC Jazz Festival." Full news article here.
DAN OUELLETTE
JAZZ & BEYOND INTEL
"..the DC Jazz Festival, in its 18th year, has grown to become the most vital and creative jamboree of established stars as well as impressive upstarts who fill the air with artistic joy." Read the article here.
for 17th Annual DC JazzFest (2021)
LEE MERGNER
JAZZTIMES
"Given the challenges that this organization faced over the last 18 months and what they accomplished in presenting jazz in all its very real diversity, yeah, I guess so." Read this review here.
CHRISTIAN WISSMULLER
JAZZED MAGAZINE
The DC Jazz Festival (DCJF) today announced DJ D-Nice will host a special dance party to conclude the DC JazzFest at The Wharf on September 5, 2021. DCJF’s signature event, DC JazzFest at The Wharf will take place September 4-5, over Labor Day Weekend, as a hybrid of in-person and livestreamed performances in front of a global audience. Check this announcement here.
MATT MICUCCI
JAZZIZ
Professional jazz vocalist/seasoned art executive Sunny Sumter has been promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of the DC Jazz Festival Organization. “I look forward to continuing to grow the annual DC JazzFest, one of the District’s cultural destinations, while finding more ways to introduce fans, young and old, to jazz,” says Sumter via a press release. The 2021 DC JazzFest is set to take place on September 1-5. Click here for more.
EDITOR
JAZZTIMES
Regina Carter, Orrin Evans, Lakecia Benjamin, and the Maria Schneider and Spanish Harlem Orchestras headline the September event. Read more about this announcement here.
JACKSON SINNENBERG
CAPITAL BOP
The DC Jazz Festival is aiming for a return to in-person programming this fall, including some events at the Wharf in Southwest, organizers announced this week. Read this article here.
JAZZ CORNER
Read the 2021 DCJazzPrix application announcement here.
JAZZTIMES
Read the DCJazzPrix contest announcement here.
JEREMY SMITH
LAST ROW MUSIC
Read the International Band Competition announcement here.
ALLEN SCOTT
ALL THAT'S JAZZ
Sunny Sumter is President & CEO of the DC Jazz Festival (DCJF), an organization that provides enriching and entertaining jazz performances and programs that introduce students and adults from all walks of life to jazz; our nation’s singular original art form. Listen to this podcast here.
LEE MERGNER
JAZZTIMES
Giveton Gelin Quintet, Camilla George, and Dayramir Gonzalez & Habana enTRANCe will compete for $15,000 grand prize and other benefits at the festival on Sept. 5. Read more here.
REPUBLIC OF JAZZ
Read this announcement here.
MATT MICUCCI
JAZZIZ
The DC JazzPrix mentioned in The Week in Jazz. Read it here.
BROADWAY WORLD
See full article here.
for 16th Annual DC JazzFest (2020)
MAJEEDAH JOHNSON
CAPITOLBOP
As the longtime executive director of the DC Jazz Festival, Sunny Sumter has guided the festival through over a decade of growth, turning it into one of the country’s leading music festivals. That was already a hefty task. But this year, her job got even more complicated when the coronavirus pandemic struck. Read the full article here.
CHARU SURI
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
From the nation’s capital comes the DC Jazz Fest (Sept. 24-28, dcjazzfest.org), where performances are streamed live from various neighborhoods. Read this full article here.
PAT LAWSON MUSE
NBC WASHINGTON
It's a jazz feast. Watch announcement broadcast here.
RICHARD SELDEN
THE GEORGETOWNER
Weekly arts roundup. See full article here.
JASON FRALEY
WTOP NEWS
Listen to the full news report here.
DOUG RULE
METRO WEEKLY
Eight things to do in DC this week. Read it here.
BRETT CALLWOOD
LA WEEKLY
The world’s a very small place during lockdown. On one hand, we’re severely restricted with where we can (and can’t) go. On the other, the virtual DC Jazz Festival is as accessible to people in Southern California as it is to jazz-heads in Washington DC itself. Read the full article here.
STEPH PURIFOY
WASHINGTON BLADE
Read event announcement here.
MATT MICUCCI
JAZZIZ
The Week in Jazz. Read it here.