Arts & Jazz Festival

Admission: Free

This event features General Admission seating for the performances

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ARTS & JAZZ FESTIVAL VENDOR SUBMISSION FORM

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Joe Baione is an internationally acclaimed jazz vibraphonist and leader of The Joe Baione Vibraphone Experience, captivating audiences with his energetic performances and deep musicality. Known for blending hard-swinging jazz with infectious rhythms, Joe’s music brings a fresh, vibrant voice to the vibraphone.

His latest album, Vibe Check, is Jazz Week chart-bound, showcasing his signature style and mastery of the instrument. Featuring standout tracks like “Faith Is My Destiny,” “Superhero,” and “Hot Mama” the album delivers an exciting mix of swing, Latin, and groove-based jazz.
What They’re Saying About Vibe Check

• “With Vibe Check, Baione proves himself not only as a master vibraphonist but also as a storyteller, weaving together personal history, familial connection, and a passion for jazz into a cohesive and captivating album.” – Kyle Simpler, All About Jazz
• “Vibraphonist extraordinaire Joe Baione unveils an amazing and robust session of boppish swinging jazz in the finest tradition of the straight-ahead style.” – Edward Blanco, WDNA (Miami)
• “With the release of Vibe Check, Joe Baione is showing the jazz world that there is a ‘new’ major vibraphonist on the scene.” – Scott Yanow, Jazz Journalist/Historian
• “The jazz world could do well with more music played with a wink, a nod, and a big smile. That’s why Joe Baione passes this Vibe Check.” – Paul Abella, WDCB.org
• “Joe, you have made your imagination the theater of your mind concerning your playing and composing.” – Benny Golson

Jazzy Blu is one of the leading jazz and R&B bands in the Washington metropolitan area. The band produces the melodic sounds of smooth jazz, neo-soul, and R&B, while blending the influences of funk, jazz, R&B, neo-soul, blues, rock, and alternative music. They create a groove-filled emotional roller coaster that takes you through an array of themes, moods, and experiences.

Jazzy Blu has entertained audiences everywhere from small lounges to large theaters. They have performed at various venues across the United States, from sold-out crowds at the historic Washington, D.C. landmark Blues Alley, to the infamous Kennedy Center, Lincoln Theatre, and Howard Theatre.

Jazzy Blu has both opened for and shared the stage with notable and Grammy Award-winning artists such as Boys to Men, Brian McKnight, Ohio Players, The Whispers, Raheem Devaughn, The O'Jays, Jon B, Roy Ayers, and Tank. Whether preparing an audience for a sold-out performance of the critically acclaimed Broadway musical, The Color Purple, or opening for the eight-time Grammy Award-winning Mary J. Blige, Jazzy Blu is “a band for every occasion.”

If Colorado-bred, L.A.-based keyboardist Lao Tizer embodies the boundaryless modern musician, he comes by it honestly. As the self-described “child of East Coast Jewish hippies,” his parents’ wide-ranging musical tastes influenced him from an early age, steeping his ears in classical, rock, soul, and world music. But it wasn’t until the age of 16, hearing Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue and Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux turned the budding pianist turned toward a new and lasting musical fascination–jazz.

Inspired, Tizer applied his classical piano skills to jazz and quickly released his first self-produced solo albums while still in high school. After graduating, Tizer moved to L.A. and studied with legendary piano guru Terry Trotter for about two years, forgoing formal music education.

Through a combination of Trotter and, as Tizer calls it, “getting my ass kicked on the bandstand,” the keyboardist learned quickly, forming The Lao Tizer Band in short order. The LTB has gone on to produce six well-received albums while attracting an impressive roster of A-list players to its ranks, performing around the world to a growing fanbase.

Most recently, Tizer took a bold leap into crossover territory with 2018’s acclaimed Songs From The Swinghouse, with a mix of re-envisioned vocal covers and trademark instrumental sophistication.

Now, Tizer and company’s new album & video release, Amplify, ups the ante with the addition of platinum-certified, American Idol vocal phenom Elliott Yamin to the band. With an intoxicating blend of soulful original songs and infectious, groove-laden instrumentals, Amplify is poised to appeal to an even wider audience–and open up a whole lot of ears.

“I was so green, man,” he said. “Coming from being a solo pianist, playing in good time with a rhythm section was one of the most challenging things to learn. I got my butt kicked on the bandstand but there’s no better way to grow than playing with people who are going to push you.”