Summer Jazz Celebration

Saturday, June 20 | 2:00pm-4:15pm

Regular | $40 each
Museum Members | $35 each

Join us to gather in the Sculpture Garden and enjoy an afternoon of live music for our sixth annual Summer Jazz Celebration, with performances by the Simone Baron Trio and the Elijah Jamal Balbed Quartet!

In collaboration with Elijah Jamal Balbed, The Kreeger Museum is honored and thrilled to present Jazz at The Kreeger, a series that furthers our mission to share music across the city. Now in its sixth year, this series supports and spotlights the wealth of musical talent in our metropolitan area.

You are welcome to bring your own canned beverages and picnic snacks along with a picnic blanket or collapsible, single-seat lawn chair. Glass beverages are not permitted on site. Light refreshments will be available for purchase.

Parking will be available next door at the Field School, located at 2301 Foxhall Road NW. This performance will be held outside in the Sculpture Garden. Museum restrooms will be available but the indoor galleries will be closed.

In the event of inclement weather, the event will be cancelled and refunds will be distributed.

A limited number of 'pay what you can' tickets are available. Please email [email protected] for more information.

Please email [email protected] as soon as possible if you plan to cancel so we can give your spot to someone else. No refunds will be issued within the 24 hours before the program.

Summer Jazz Celebration Schedule:

2-2:45pm: Simone Baron Trio
2:45-3:15pm: Intermission*
3:15-4:15 Elijah Jamal Balbed Quartet presents "Standard-Ish"

*Join us during intermission for a fifteen-minute sculpture garden tour to learn about highlights of our collection.

About the Artists

Elijah Jamal Balbed Quartet presents 
"Standard-Ish"
featuring vocalist Emily Davies

Elijah Jamal Balbed - Saxophone
Minh Vo - Keyboard
Ponenya Min - Bass
Kevin Kearney Jr - Drums
Emily Davies - Guest Vocals

Elijah Jamal Balbed is a 2x WAMMIE Award-winning saxophonist, composer/arranger, educator, and curator in the Washington, DC area who has worked with the likes of Chuck Brown, Roy Ayers, George Duke, Lauryn Hill, Gloria Estefan, The Blackbyrds, Winard Harper, Cyrus Chestnut, and many others. He has been featured on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” with The Dream, 3 episodes of “Noocie’s Front Porch”, and The Gershwin Prize on PBS with Gloria Estefan. Elijah has also appeared on the Netflix original series House of Cards in Episode 11 of Season 4.

Born in DC and raised in Silver Spring, MD, Elijah matriculated to Howard University where he studied classical and jazz saxophone with Charlie Young and was a featured soloist in the Howard University Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Fred Irby III. While a student at Howard, Elijah began establishing himself around town as a rising star on the saxophone, and at the age of 21 Elijah received a life-changing call to perform at Blues Alley with the Godfather of Go-Go Chuck Brown. This would be a pivotal moment in Elijah's career, creating a new-found affinity for DC's original genre of music "Go-Go". Sadly, Chuck passed the following year but Elijah was determined to keep the legacy of Chuck Brown and Go-Go Music alive and introduce/educate those less familiar with Go-Go Music. 

In 2012 Elijah released his debut album as a leader "Checking In", and his since released 4 albums and one single: "Lessons From the Streets" (2015), "The Karma Suite" (2019), Keep the Faith (2024), and his most recent offerings "The Crab Shack Sessions Volume 1 & 2" (2025 & 2026). In 2014, Elijah was an Artist-in-Residence at Strathmore and decided to use the residency as an opportunity to debut his band The JoGo Project - an ensemble presenting a unique fusion of Jazz and Go-Go musics, featuring some of the top musicians in the area. JoGo has since released several singles and two EPs, traveled to Russia to perform and do workshops on behalf of the US State Department. JoGo has become a staple in the greater “DMV” area, and even wrote 3 original songs for Ubisoft’s “The Division 2” - a post-apocalyptic video game that takes place in DC. 

Elijah has been fortunate to travel around the country and the world with all kinds of bands and artists. Some of these performances include Ronnie Scott’s in London with The Blackbyrds, The Capitol Jazz Cruise house band backing Lalah Hathaway, Kirk Whalum, Raheem DeVaughn, Eric Roberson, and Jonathan Butler, The Soul Train Cruise with Chuck Brown Band & The Temptations, 9:30 Club with Chuck Brown and WALE, Wolf Trap with Ms Lauryn Hill.

Elijah continues to perform and record with his various ensembles The JoGo Project, The EJB Quartet, and Fiesta Mojo, as well as touring as a sideman with The Chuck Brown Band, Cheikh Ibra Fam, and Noochie’s Front Porch. serving as Curator for Jazz at The Kreeger since 2021, Ciel Social Club since 2024, and most recently was appointed Director of the JazzDC Youth Ensemble - a new jazz program as a part of the DC Youth Orchestra in collaboration with DC Jazz Festival and Sitar Center for the Arts.

For this appearance at The Kreeger Museum's Summer Jazz Celebration, Elijah is excited to present a new ensemble of Gen Z musicians whom he just recorded a new album with. The album will be entitled "Standard-Ish", and is set for release in Spring 2027.

For more information, go to www.balbedmusic.com or follow Elijah on social media platforms!

Emily Davies is a Northern Virginia–based jazz vocalist, flutist, and recording artist with extensive performance experience in small and large ensemble and professional settings. A 3rd Place winner in the Ella Fitzgerald International Jazz Vocal Competition, Emily has performed at notable venues such as Blues Alley, Mr. Henry’s, Center for the Arts and the Hylton Performing Arts Center with professional orchestras and big bands. 

She is currently a featured vocalist with the Carter Stevens Big Band, and has appeared with the American Festival Pops Orchestra, the Ben Patterson Jazz Orchestra, the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble, and the Mason Jazz Ensemble. Conference performances include the Jazz Education Network “JENerations Jazz Festival” (Orlando, FL) and two American Choral Directors Southern Region Conferences (Raleigh, NC and Memphis, TN). Emily holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from George Mason University, where she served as Assistant Director of the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble, and is an active choral and instrumental music educator in Northern Virginia.

For more information, go to emilydaviesmusic.squarespace.com or follow Emily on Instagram at @emilyadaviesmusic 

Simone Baron Trio

Simone Baron by Asia Melieszko, Philadelphia PA

Simone Baron is an accordionist, pianist, composer, improviser, and instigator whose playing is known for its “gestural joie de vivre," marked by “living, breathing vitality and exquisite nuance” (Washington Post). Engaging a broad spectrum of idioms, their music “ego-less, genre agnostic and without expectations” (JazzTimes) explores dreams, somatic empathy and transformation. simone has received grants, fellowships, and residencies from organizations including South Arts, Chamber Music America, Conserere Milan, Sacatar Foundation (Brazil), the Banff Centre, Strathmore, Hambidge, ArtOMI, Avaloch Farm, Marble House, Bloedel Reserve, and Spectrum Toronto. 2026 engagements include tours with their chamber jazz ensemble Arco Belo, DeCollage trio, the transatlantic baron-calcagno duo, and a new solo project. simone is a Victoria Artist and plays a Poeta XB Accordion. simonebaron.com

This project is supported by a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.