New Year's Eve 2013!

Be authentic this New Year's Eve...enjoy bringing in 2013 with some seriously fun jazz. We are so excited about this year's feature - Kris Funn & Cornerstore is all energy, all amazing and all about warming you up for a wonderful nite.

Kristopher Funn was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He began playing the trumpet at age four and took up the double bass at age 14 upon entering high school. Through the instruction of his father, Charles Funn, Kristopher performed his first professional bass gig the same year he began learning the instrument. Other early accomplishments included winning the “unsung hero” at the Fish Middleton jazz competition at the East Coast Jazz festival also in the first year of instruction.

At age 18, Kristopher attended Howard University to study Computer Science while also performing in the Howard University Jazz Ensemble for two years. At age 23, Kristopher began touring internationally with alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett. He continues to perform professionally in the Washington D.C. area while touring with the Christian Scott Quintet.

2012 John Conyers, Jr. Jazz Advocacy Award

Congratulations to our very own Omrao Brown, Owner, General Manager & jazz man extraordinaire (Bohemian Caverns), for his FANTASTIC achievements in service to the community and preserving the legacy of jazz in the District - recently named the 2012 John Conyers, Jr. Jazz Advocacy Award recipient by the DC Jazz Festival. What a compliment! DC thanks you for your commitment to our community, week after week bringing authentic jazz, passionate artistry and most importantly for building relationships on U Street. You are appreciated.

In 1987, the Honorable John Conyers, Jr., Congressman (D-MI) a champion of jazz, introduced a bill to the House and the Senate that cited the critical need to have America’s most unique and original art form afforded a status commensurate with its value and importance in the United States.

The bill passed unanimously: Jazz is hereby designated a rare and valuable national American treasure to which we should devote our attention, support and resources to make certain it is preserved, understood and promulgated.

Congressman Conyers received the DC Jazz Festival’s first jazz advocacy award in recognition of his long years of devotion and commitment to jazz and his tireless efforts to ensure its rightful place in America’s history.

Past John Conyers Jr. Jazz Advocacy Award Recipients are:

La Maison Francaise/The Embassy of France (2011)
Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr., Chairman of Patton Boggs, LLP (2010)
The Government of the District of Columbia (2009)
Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment of Arts (2008)
Congressman John Conyers Jr. (2007)