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Local DJ faves Jesse Tittsworth and Will Eastman and a group of partners are opening up their own space on U Street, the Going Out Gurus report at The Post. Expect the 250- to 300-capacity U Street Music Hall to open early next year at 1115 U St., formerly the Cue Bar. “The whole place is going to be a dance floor,” Eastman told the Gurus. “There will be a few booths and bar stools, but it’s a dance club. It’s for dancing, not sitting.” Eastman will still be hosting dance nights elsewhere though, like his popular Bliss night at the Black Cat.
From the Dept. of Ex-Washingtonians: Ted Leo And The Pharmacists, whose last two labels stopped releasing music, are now signed to Matador Records. And the dubby, noisy group Mi Ami—which, like Leo & Co., was on Touch & Go—has signed with Thrill Jockey. The San Francisco outfit includes two members of the disbanded Black Eyes.
The Kennedy Center announced its 2009-2010 jazz season, Jazz Times reports. Highlights include Mavis Staples on April 23 and a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald on Jan. 24 featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Al Jarreau, Janis Siegel, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band.
In other jazz news, the Congressional Black Caucus is hosting a free jazz (but not Free Jazz) forum and concert tonight in Ballroom A of the Convention Center. The evening features lots of local names, and caps off with a tribute to Miles Davis‘ Kind of Blue, in celebration of the album’s 50th anniversary this year.
Area DJ Dave Nada and engineer Matt Nordstrom’s Nadastrom project dropped a digital EP today.
Aural Suppository has some videos from the Black Cat‘s recent 16th anniversary showwith Dead Meadow and The Shirks. Including this one:
Dead Meadow performing at the Black Cat’s 16 anniversary in DC from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.
Photo courtesy of Mi Ami’s MySpace page.