PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED.
A NEW DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED ONCE DETERMINED.
The Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute are delighted to welcome the 10th annual Washington Women in Jazz Festival, opening on March 17th at the Embassy of Italy with a special performance featuring Italian artists Silvia Bolognesi (double bass) and Chiara Lazzerini (trombone), for the first time on stage with American artists Amy K . Bormet (piano) and Angel Bethea (drums).
Created in 2011 by Amy K Bormet, Washington Women in Jazz hosts an annual festival each March to celebrate the women of Washington, DC – and now the international – jazz community. Bormet and her colleagues develop, promote and lead a wide array of concerts, jam sessions, lectures, panels, discussions, and masterclasses. A highlight of the festival is the Young Artist Showcase, where high school and college women are given a platform to perform and connect with professional jazz artists.
For the opening night performance, Amy, Silvia, Chiara and Angel will present a mix of original compositions and standards, in a celebration of women and jazz without borders and boundaries.
Washington Women in Jazz Festival Full Schedule: washingtonwomeninjazz.com
This concert will be broadcast live on WPFW
LOCATION
Embassy of Italy
3000 Whitehaven Street NW
Washington, DC 20008
REGISTRATION & PHOTO ID REQUIRED
DOORS OPEN 30 MINUTES PRIOR EVENT START-TIME
Due to new safety regulations, we are not allowed to add extra seats to the auditorium or let anyone stand. A registration is not a guarantee of a seat as these are assigned on a first-come first-served basis. Doors close at event start-time.
Once the event is full we will not accept wait list requests. A limited number of “last call” registrations will be available on Eventbrite between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM on the day of the event.
RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH EVENTBRITE. NO PHONE OR EMAIL RSVP AVAILABLE
SILVIA BOLOGNESI
Silvia Bolognesi is a double bass player, composer and arranger. She graduated in double bass at the R. Franci Institute of Siena with Maestro Andrea Granai. She approached jazz studying at the Siena Jazz Accademy with Paolino dalla Porta, Furio di Castri and Ferruccio Spinetti. The most significant encounters in his musical training are those with William Parker, Muhal Richard Abrams, Lawrence “Butch” Morris, Roscoe Mitchell and Antony Braxton.
Winner of the “Top Jazz 2010”, by “Musica Jazz” as best new talent and, in the same year, winner of the “In Sound” trophy for double bass category, since 2009 she is part of the international string trio Hear In Now with Tomeka Reid on cello and Mazz Swift on violin and vocals. With this trio they completed Roscoe Mitchell’s sextet in his Homage to John Coltrane in 2017. Silvia Bolognesi is part of the “Art Ensemble of Chicago 50th Anniversary” special project “We are on the Edge” (Pi Records 2019).
AMY K . BORMET
Amy K Bormet is a pianist, vocalist, composer, and arts leader. The quintet from her debut album, Striking, was featured as part of the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center. As an advocate for women in music, Amy created the Washington Women in Jazz Festival (washingtonwomeninjazz.com) in 2011 and continues to serve as executive director. One of her latest projects, AmyAna, is a quintet co-led by Ana Barreiro. AmyAna toured Brazil in 2019, and will have an April 2020 tour of the East Coast. (This tour is made possible with the support of Jazz Road, a national initiative of South Arts, which is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.) In 2019 she co-founded Strange Woman Records (strangewomanrecords.com) and co-created “Jazz Stories”, a weekly music and interview show on WPFW 89.3FM.
CHIARA LAZZERINI
Chiara Lazzerini “is a young and flexible trombonist with a full-bodied and elastic sound and with a sound-exploration game full of colours and dense and introspective chiaroscuro” (E. Sanna). In the 2013, she started studing classic trumpet before turning to trombone under the guidance of jazz trombonist Tony Cattano. She plays with various jazz groups as the Fonterossa Open Orchestra and has collaborated with different musicians such as Alessandra Falca, Zastava Orkestar, Compagnia Virgilio Sieni, Pisa University Orchestra Sinfonica, Silvia Bolognesi, Eugenio Sanna, Tony Cattano.
ANGEL BETHEA
Born and raised in Washington D.C., Angel performs on drums and percussion across the DMV area including The Kennedy Center, Mr. Henry’s & Blues Alley. Her trio was a highlight of CapitalBop’s Jazz and Freedom festival in January of 2020. She performs regularly with other groups such as Shannon Gunn & the Bullettes and the Joshua Jenkins Trio. Some of Angel’s greatest drumming influences are Terri Lyne Carrington and Elvin Jones. In addition to her performances, Angel is passionate about helping non-profit arts organizations including The Washington Jazz Arts Institute located in D.C. where she is a mentor for young musicians in training.