At 88 years, Abdullah Ibrahim drew a huge crowd, filling the concert hall at the Kennedy Center on a Sunday evening. He began on solo piano, with floating melodies over hymn-like harmonies. Later, he was joined by a band of four horn players, a bass and a sax. The pattern throughout the evening was that Ibrahim rarely played with the band; rather, he played to set the mood for a tune or to bridge between tunes. ...

Porchfest brings music to the streets, as people stroll the local Petworth neighborhood and bands perform from the porches of houses. This year our friends Pilar and Darlene joined us, and we ran into Carolyn and Octavio. The music ranged from immigrant folk to psychadelic jam to random accordion and beyond. It was a nice cool day and we had fun people watching the crowds, checking out lots of bands, and catching up with friends. ...

The National Endowment of the Arts honors four Jazz Masters each year, and this year gave awards to Kenny Garrett, Regina Carter, Louis Hayes and Sue Mingus. Although we didn’t have tickets, I hopped on a city bike and rode 27 minutes from our house to the Kennedy Center to wait for standby tickets. A fun group of earnest jazz fans began filling the line at 5:30 for a 7:15 ticket release. My patience was rewarded with two great front-row balcony seats, and Audrey soon joined for the concert. ...

Peak cherry blossoms were waiting for us when we arrived this year in Washington, DC. After a few days of rain, we awoke to a glorious Sunday morning. Audrey and I hopped on the city bikes (with helmets, of course), and rode 30 minutes to the National Mall. We were greeted by peak crowds, all trying to get to Tidal Basin that surrounds the Jefferson Memorial. ...

We tuned in to Jake Shimabukuru via streaming on Friday night, and to our surprise, we liked his music and entertaining style so much that we bought tickets for Sunday night. After a fun French dinner of crepes and French onion soup at Chez Maman West, we strolled over to SFJazz to catch the show. Jake performed a wide range of music from Flamenco-style to a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody and While my Guitar Gently Weeps. His take was lighthearted yet virtuosic. Overall, good fun. ...