Tedd Baker Quartet (Sets at 7:00 & 8:30 PM)

Tedd Baker is one of the most revered on the D.C. scene, has toured the world as part of the State Department’s Jazz Ambassadors program and is a member of the U.S. Air Force jazz band, the Airmen of Note. But when he steps in front of his own combo, Baker’s liable to bring the house down; he has a broad, powerful tone and a sure-footed improvisational attack that winds and zags. It’s confident and questioning, all at once. - Giovanni Russonello, Capitolbop.com

Baker has a sound that's firmly in the [Sonny] Rollins lineage: burly, unfurling forcefully with long, low lines that often hit even lower accents (the saxophonistic equivalent of the soul singer grunting "UHH!") He never seems to tire, either; those supercharged lines will be coming as surely and confidently at the end of a set as they were at the beginning. You don't have to take my word for this, mind you—the city is full of jazz musicians who hold him in high regard. - Michael J. West, Washington City Paper