Tonight, at its annual free Labor Day performance on the West Lawn of the Capitol, the National Symphony Orchestra featured the music of 3 DC musical legends - march king John Philip Sousa, jazz legend Duke Ellington, and go-go funk master Chuck Brown.
First, the NSO prodded the crowd's patriotic side with a series of Sousa's stirring marches, concluding with his most famous, "Stars and Stripes Forever."
Next, came a string of famous Ellington compositions including "Take the A Train" and "Satin Doll." Ellington's granddaughter, Mercedes, added personal vignettes about the tunes.
Finally, the NSO revealed its funky side by playing a mash-up of the classical Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey combined with Brown's breakout hit "Fee l Like Bustin Loose" (which was sampled by Nelly for his hit "It's Hot in Here" and is the officials song for the Washington Nationals Baseball team).
Following the symphony performance, Brown, who just turned 75, and his band took the stage and kept the crowd bobbing and bouncing for another hour.
Travelers' Tip:
In today's post-9/11 world, if you're going to a crowded event, be sure to leave ample time to pass through security.
DC at Night
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Archive
-
▼
2011
(120)
-
▼
September
(24)
- Laughter Gives Hope for America
- Cartoons as Art, Cartoons as History
- They Had Rhythm,They Had Music
- The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of Defeat
- Cheezeborger, Cheezeborger, Cheezeborger, No Fries...
- What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?
- Presidential Hopefuls Should Face Constitutional T...
- The World of the Teenage Brain: Maybe Not So Wild ...
- Let The Debate Continue
- It's The Economy,Stupid
- Small May Be Big, Too
- It's More Than Food; It's Faces Too
- A Synetic Macbeth: Silent, Stunning, Sensational
- George Pelecanos: The DC King of Crime Writers
- US at Nadir, Nader & Panel Claim
- Osama bin Laden: From 2 Who Talked to Him
- Cartoonists Pay Homage to 9/11
- Authors Revisit Horror, Heroism of 9/11
- What's for Lunch?
- Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's (Again) Off to Work I Go
- Speak No More: A Silent Shakespeare
- A Briefcase, A Squegee: The Objects of 9/11
- Come Together ... Over Them
- The National Symphony Gets Down & Gets Funky
-
▼
September
(24)
Popular Posts
-
Sandra Cisneros, the author of the classic The House on Mango Street who now lives in Mexico, believes she has an ideal slogan for her new ...
-
Each week in our Saturday Supplement we re-post an entry of interest to both residents of the Washington area and visitors to DC that fi...
-
Each week in our Saturday Supplement we re-post an entry of interest to both residents of the Washington area and visitors to DC that fi...
-
From stiletto daggers and sexy witches to devilish hydras and sea serpents, there's no end of scary stuff to spook yourself and your ...
-
DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most visited and treasured places. But the Smi...
-
Here we are - The Prices Doing DC Most things change. And that is certainly true of the blog you are now reading. When we started The ...
-
DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most visited and treasured places. But the Smi...
-
Each week in our Saturday Supplement we re-post an entry of interest to both residents of the Washington area and visitors to DC that fi...
-
With a 2-5 record, Washington's National Football League team is obviously experiencing difficulties on the field. But there is an equ...
-
Laura Poitras explains her film as Dana Priest listens In early January, 2013 filmmaker Laura Poitras received an email from someone who...
No comments:
Post a Comment