Elijah Jamal Balbed

Elijah Jamal Balbed is a Washington, DC native and alum of the legendary Jazz Studies programs at both Howard University and University of the District of Columbia. While a student at Howard, Elijah became very active on the U Street jazz scene performing at now defunct venues such as Twins Jazz, HR-57, and Bohemian Caverns. In 2009, Elijah’s presence started to become known on the scene and he was named “Best New Jazz Musician” by the Washington City Paper. A couple years later, Elijah started performing with the Godfather of Go-Go Chuck Brown from 2011 until Mr Brown’s death in 2012. In 2013 he attended the Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program at The Kennedy Center under the direction of Jason Moran, and the following year he was accepted into the Artist-in-Residence program at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. During his residency, Elijah debuted his Jazz and Go-Go band “The JoGo Project”, which has since become a mainstay on the DC music scene having performed all over the area and winning 2 WAMMIE Awards.

As a sideman, Elijah has played for The Temptations, Fantasia, T.I., Busta Rhymes, CL Smooth, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Gloria Estefan, The Blackbyrds, Winard Harper, and many others. Elijah can be seen on NPR’s Tiny Desk and Noochie’s Front Porch series, as well as features on WBGO, The Washington Post, and Al Jazeera. He has traveled to Russia as a Jazz Ambassador on behalf of the U.S. State Department, as well as stints in London, Doha, and the PAPJazz festival in Haiti. Elijah is also a curator of jazz at The Kreeger Museum and Ciel Social Club. Elijah is also deeply involved with education, as the director of the DC Youth Orchestra “JazzDC Youth Ensemble” and a resident artist with Washington Performing Arts.