DIVERSIONS

City Lights

As Above So Below

Southeast D.C.’s Ankhlejohn released his exceptional album As Above So Below in December 2020—his fifth release that year. The animated lyricist’s consistent output of great music has given him a cult following within the city and beyond. The 12-track As Above is produced entirely by Brooklyn’s Navy Blue, who has also garnered a dedicated fan base for his intuitive and honest music. The project’s production is loaded with captivating samples that span from ethereal moans and smooth guitar riffs to low-pitched piano runs and chopped-up trumpet solos. Ankhlejohn enthusiastically raps over Navy Blue’s soundscapes with a unique delivery influenced by his past involvement in D.C.’s spoken word community (in high school, he hosted open mics at Busboys and Poets). He also demonstrates his lyrical versatility throughout the project; his braggadocious bars on “Man on a Mission” complement his self-aware and knowledgeable lyrics on “Final Destination.” The album was largely made by the artists sending verses and beats back and forth via email, but a few songs, such as “Look Beyond,” which features Da$h and al.divino, were recorded during one of Ankhlejohn’s recent trips to New York. In fact, the majority of the artists featured on the album are very present in New York’s bubbling underground scene. As Above So Below is one of the most cohesive projects released in the past year. Navy Blue creates an alternate sonic reality where Ankhlejohn’s lyrical mastery thrives, giving this release infinite playback potential. The album is available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify, and can be ordered on vinyl through the artist. Prices vary. —Amari Newman

City Lights

Jazz and Freedom Festival documentaries

“The venues,” says Shannon Gunn, “they hold the spirit of the music.” Since 2015, Gunn has been helping local jazz advocacy group CapitalBop organize its annual Jazz and Freedom Festival. She first pitched the festival as a way to promote locally focused nonprofits. “It’s cathartic for musicians to be able to use their art for social justice,” she says. Past recipients include ICE Out of DC, Black Lives Matter, and this year, jazz educators at the Washington Jazz Arts Institute. The festival couldn’t take place in person this year; instead, CapitalBop made a mini-docuseries about iconic venues that closed in 2020, including Alice’s Jazz and Cultural Society, Twins Jazz, and Columbia Station. “We were thinking about all the nonprofits we could help out,” Gunn says, “but there’s a huge problem right now in that all the venues are closing.” Others include Eighteenth Street Lounge, Marvin, and Sotto, and it’s unclear what will happen to Blues Alley, D.C.’s last full-time jazz venue. The docuseries mixes interviews and performance to make you feel like you’re in these storied spaces. Jamie Sandel, CapitalBop’s managing director, says that’s the idea: “to get one sliver of the magic that comes from listening to this music live.” Hear pianist Peter Edelman on the close-knit hangs at Columbia Station, or DeAndrey Howard on how growing up around D.C. jazz informed how he ran AJACS. Gunn appreciates how the Twins episode highlights bartender Wendy Whittington. “Jazz bartenders,” Gunn says, “keep things going. People don’t realize how much they’re the reason we can play at the venues because they just solve a lot of problems.” There’s a silver lining, though. Columbia Station moved all its music programming next door to Green Island Cafe, Twins Jazz has its foundation, and there are murmurs that AJACS could return. The documentaries are available on the CapitalBop YouTube channel. For more on Washington Jazz Arts Institute, visit wjai.org. Free. —Michael Loria

Creative Struggle

By Brendan Emmett Quigley

Across 1. Investment options 6. Thing shown off in a muscle shirt 9. Flimsily made 14. Nigeria’s capital 15. Cost of doing business 16. First thing everybody’s going to do once we’ve achieved herd immunity 17. Online combatant of all things evil on the internet 20. Sylvan ___ (electronic pop act) 21. Cashmere and angora 22. Bonus track on an expanded album reissue, perhaps 23. Cuzco 57-Down 25. Additional playing periods: Abbr. 27. Skirmishes between two 17-Acrosses? 34. Clean up in the tub 35. Storting’s nat. 36. Cancel out 38. “The first mistake of ___ is to assume that it’s serious” (Lester Bangs) 39. At the next available moment 42. The Cavaliers of the NCAA 43. Element with a silvery-blue appearance 45. Wrist action 46. Object 47. Combative spots written by one 17-Across to go after another 17-Across? 50. MMA decision 51. Cabinetmaker’s medium 53. With 68-Across, gauntlet drop by a 17-Across 60. Mash note verse 61. Strictly verboten 62. Inarticulate grunt made after a foolish comment 64. M portrayer between Robert and Ralph 65. Big name in brushes 66. “Sounds fun!” 67. Record label with a snapping fingers logo 68. See 53-Across 69. Lines at the casino

Down 1. Hit the bong 2. Titles bestowed by the Queen: Abbr. 3. Van ___, CA 4. Room with decks 5. ___ Tomé and Príncipe 6. Haircut fluffed out with a comb 7. Mulligan 8. Pet kitten whimper 9. Lifeguard’s qualification, for short 10. Two threes, in craps 11. The lake in “Mistake By the Lake” 12. It gets smashed in a lab 13. One with a lighter touch? 18. No longer with the company, for short? 19. Starting from 24. Driving lanes: Abbr. 26. Schmuck 27. Columnist ___ Weiss 28. Directive on an env. 29. First name on a bomber 30. “America’s DriveIn” 31. Entrepreneur David who started a vacuum company 32. Metal fastener 33. Hold onto 34. Director Luhrmann 37. Sweet potato 40. Frequently, in verse 41. Jimmy Cliff’s genre 44. Betty Crocker product 46. “What? Are you deaf? Forget it!” 48. Top Chef judge Colicchio 49. Half of an umlaut 50. Defender’s courtroom opponent 52. Hit below the belt, say 53. Hype up 54. Pack in the overhead bin 55. Old West card game 56. Letter-shaped construction piece 57. Doubloon makeup 58. Quoits pegs 59. Sheepskin holder 60. They’re worn while going undercover 63. Scoreboard nos.

LAST CROSSWORD: NO AND IN SIGHT

washingtoncitypaper.com april 2021 29