Nicholas Payton is not the first or last in the long, proud lineage of horn players ringing the cry for social justice from New Orleans’ Congo Square, but he is among the most prolific. The Crescent City-born and -raised trumpeter and friend of the D.C. jazz scene is known for writing provocative, arousing treatises on race and music. He says even more about those things when he speaks through his horn. As a composer and bandleader, he works more like a remix artist, exploring and contextualizing black music as a continuous, unified legacy. His latest recording project, Afro-Caribbean Mixtape, celebrates African music as it developed across the Americas over the last 400 years. Read more >>> Nicholas Payton performs at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $25–$30. (202) 337-4141. bluesalley.com. (Jackson Sinnenberg)

EAT THIS

H Street NE’s Whole Foods opens today. It has a Paper Horse stall from Chef Erik Bruner-Yang where he expands on his ramen offerings to feature a Chinese diner-style menu with Asian comfort foods. Customers who shop today will encounter door buster deals and free samples throughout the new 40,000-square-foot store. Whole Foods, 600 H St. NE. (202) 469-7410. wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/hstreet. (Laura Hayes)

OH AND ALSO

Secondhand Serenade, the musical alter ego of John Vesely, celebrates the 10th anniversary of his album, Awake, with a show at Black Cat featuring sets from openers Hawthorne Heights, Ronnie Winter, and Kenny Holland. 7:30 p.m. at 1811 14th St. NW. $20.

Canadian electronic act A Tribe Called Red takes the stage for a late show at U Street Music Hall alongside Basscamp and Kristy La Rat. 10:30 p.m. at 1115 U St. NW. $15.

The Kennedy Center, in collaboration with the Sundance Institute, presents Taha, playwright and performer Amer Hlehel‘s one-man show about the Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali. 7:30 p.m. at 2700 F St. NW. $15.

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