The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) invites you to join us for Jazz at the Kramer! A music series in partnership with Paul Carr’s Jazz Academy of Music presenting a free evening of jazz at the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery & Music Room on the second Wednesday of every month.
Admission is FREE but advanced registration is required due to limited capacity.
** Masks are encouraged for all guests, regardless of vaccination status. Outside food and beverages are not permitted in the gallery with the exception of water. **
Second Wednesdays: Jazz at the Kramer featuring Vocalist Lavenia Nesmith and Pianist Allyn Johnson
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Second Wednesdays: Jazz at the Kramer featuring Bhagwan Khalsa on Bass + Eric Byrd on Piano and Chris Latona on Piano + Andrew Latona on Guitar.
Jazz at the Kramer
Event Listing
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
6 p.m. at the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room
Join us for a night of jazz featuring pianist Jon Ozment and vocalist Steve Washington! RSVP Here!
May Musicians
Steve Washington
Steve Washington has been performing since the early ‘80s with humble beginnings in Princeton University’s college singing groups and theatrical productions. After Princeton, Steve appeared in numerous professional theatrical productions, eventually earning membership in Actors’ Equity (the actor’s union) when cast in a late 80s Arena Stage production of Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. In the late 80s, forays into dramatic theater landed him a spot in a workshop for aspiring actors administered by the Shakespeare Theater at the Folger culminating in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which Steve was cast as Demetrius.
After a handful of theatrical appearances in the DC-MD-VA area, in 1990, Steve auditioned in NYC for Jean Ann Ryan Productions and was cast as principal vocalist of several production shows to be performed on the Queen Elizabeth II.
In the 90s, after the QEII, Steve shifted his focus to music fronting some of DC’s top bands and orchestras and sharing stages with the Marvelettes, the Drifters, the Supremes, the Village People, Peter Noon, Gary Pucket, Orleans, comedian Steven Wright, and others. As a freelance vocalist, Steve performed in DC area jazz & blues clubs and performance spaces, including numerous sold-out appearances at the world-famous Blues Alley Jazz Supper Club.
In the late 90s, Steve returned to the theater in a production that would change the level and quality of theatrical productions in the cruise-ship industry when cast in an ambitious production of Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s Broadway review Hey Mr. Producer, appearing as the Engineer of Miss Saigon, Valjean of Les Miserables, and the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera. Steve has said, “tackling those characters and famous numbers under the guidance of Sir Mackintosh himself and his directorial team remains one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.”
Steve is a featured vocalist on other artist’s CDs and a demo vocalist for songwriters from DC to New York City. Steve has also traveled the world touring Italy with the Steve Washington Project and headlining on many of the world’s finest luxury ships. His big-band cabaret acts, “Nat & Sammy Remembered” (a loving tribute to Nat “King” Cole and Sammy Davis, Jr.) and “Rhythm, Blues & Broadway” (plain-old good fun) continue to be well received on both land and sea.
Currently, Steve is the co-lead vocalist for Raggs & the AllStars (aka the SRO Orchestra) and continues to freelance playing notable clubs and performance spaces like Blues Alley, the Carlyle Club, the Atlas Theater, and the Katzen Arts Center, Arts in Motion Theater (Leisure World), Riderwood, the Chrysalis Amphitheater, etc.
Discover more about Steve’s CDs, international performances and regional work HERE!
Follow Steve on Social Media! Instagram | Facebook
Jon Ozment
Jon has been working in and around the DC area for twenty years as a performer, producer, composer, and arranger. He has produced and arranged recordings by local jazz artists Imani, Maryann Redmond, and Al Williams. Jon has performed extensively in the jazz and contemporary jazz fields, appearing on recordings with Buck Hill, David Yarborough, Origem, Matt Belzer, and Vinny Valentino. He has performed in concerts with Jon Faddis, Bobby Hutcherson, Al Jarreau, Nneena Freelon, Frank Foster, Clark Terry, Frank Wess, Chuck Brown, Curtis Fuller, John Handy, and Larry Ridley, and has toured nationally with Marlena Shaw, Miki Howard, Rain Pryor, Kim Waters, and the Blackbyrds. Throughout ’97-’99 Jon toured the States and Europe with saxophonist Maceo Parker. Jon has appeared on numerous recordings, and his compositions have been recorded by many of the above-named artists. Jon is currently Adjunct Professor of Jazz Piano at the University of Maryland in College Park and at the American University, and he has conducted artist residencies under the auspices of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the American Composers Forum.