By Lavanya Ramanathan
Thursday, March 27, 2008

New York jazz in Chennai, India. A rap act from Atlanta performing for a crowd in Bolivia.

Musical diplomacy. That's the point of the Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad series, which sends jazz and so-called urban music artists abroad to unlikely countries to see the world and spread their sound like seed. Sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the tours have, for the past three years, stopped in Washington for free concerts at National Geographic.

Tonight, you can catch the third concert in this year's series, featuring Brooklyn's independent neo-soul Maya Azucena Band (which is about to set off on its journey to Asia) and jazz outfit Alvin Atkinson and the Sound Merchants (Atkinson was once a house drummer for the "Emeril Live" cooking show). The fourth and final concerts are set for April 17 and May 1.

Free. Tonight at 6. Grosvenor Auditorium, National Geographic Society, 1600 M St. NW. 202-857-7700.

In the same vein, the National Cherry Blossom Festival is reason for a little cultural exchange between the Tateshina High School Jazz Club of Nagano, Japan, and the Howard University Jazz Ensemble, which, after performances together in Japan last year, will reunite for a slew of the events this weekend, their first U.S. performances together. For a longer show, catch their East-meets-West take on jazz on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage on Sunday. Free. 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Grand Foyer, 2700 F St. NW. 202-467-4600.

CONCERT: Beach House The Baltimore duo of Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, purveyors of haunting, minimalist indie-pop (of the slow and depressing variety), really emerged this year with their sophomore full-length, "Devotion," one of hottest indie records of the year so far. They visit the Rock & Roll Hotel on April 4 for a show with the Papercuts. $10. Doors at 8:30, show at 9:30. 353 H St. NE. 202-388-7625 or get tickets in advance at http://www.rockandrollhoteldc.com.

ON STAGE: Lewis Black The Grammy Award-winning comedian who is just so frustrated with everyone and everything, must have developed his temperament growing up here in the lovely Washington area (he is, indeed, an alum of Silver Spring's Springbrook High School). After an intimate and emotional show at his old school last summer marking more than 40 years since his graduation, Black, on his "Let Them Eat Cake" tour, returns to the area to perform at the Warner Theatre for two nights this spring. $59.50-$75. May 15-16 at 8 p.m. 13th and E streets NW. Save some of the Ticketmaster fees and buy from the Warner box office, open Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday noon-3, or call 202-397-7328.

THE SCENE: A Mother's Day Cooking Class Give your mom an early present, a healthy-cooking class (summer salads and soups) the day before Mother's Day with the executive chef of the Oz restaurant in Bethesda's Doubletree Hotel. Chef Timothy Jones will lead the class at the restaurant's kitchen, sharing professional insights and the secrets of cooking with locally grown food. Participants get champagne and an apron and recipe cards to take home. $50 per person. May 10, 2-5 p.m. 8120 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. To register, 301-664-7300.

ON STAGE: Merce Cunningham's Odes to Pop Culture Tonight through Saturday, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company will perform a program of three dances informed by everything from Jasper Johns to the music of John Cage to iPods. The highlight might just be the latest work, "eyeSpace," which features one score that is programmed to iPods and distributed to the audience (you can also download it for your own iPod from the Washington Performing Arts Society's site, http://www.wpas.org), and another that represents all the sounds of the city that iPod people manage to tune out. $35-$55 tonight; $32-$67 tomorrow and Saturday. (Tip: Use code 4961 when ordering for 20 percent off tickets.) 8 p.m. each night. Harman Center for the Arts, Sidney Harman Hall, 450 Seventh St. NW. 202-547-1122.

FOR FAMILIES: Stomp D.A.T. This annual step show hosted by Delta Sigma Theta sorority showcases the talents of local high school and community teams, who face off in the stomping, thumping dance form at the Lincoln Theatre tomorrow. $20; $15 in advance. 4 p.m. 1215 U St. NW. For tickets, go to the Lincoln box office (open Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; 202-328-6000) or call 202-397-7328.

EXHIBIT: "Craigslist" -- the Exhibition This show curated by the Curator's Office and Civilian Art Projects features four artists who use that ubiquitous ticket/furniture/date-finding Web site ( http://www.craigslist.org) to inform their works. Joseph and John Dumbacher find models on Craigslist, and photograph them in darkened movie theaters; Jason Horowitz also uses the site to find models whom he shoots by singling out single body parts for anonymous portraits; Jason Zimmerman compiles the provocative photos posted by hookup-seeking users of the site for an LCD installation. Free. Wednesday-Saturday, 2-6 p.m. through April 26. Civilian Art Projects, Main Gallery, 406 Seventh St. NW, third floor. 202-347-0022.

CONCERT: The Eels The latest band to perform at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue is the Eels, which reached probably its greatest mainstream success in the mid-1990s with the single "Novocaine for the Soul." The next notable point: In 2000, George W. Bush's presidential campaign singled out the band's CD "Daisies of the Galaxy" as offensive (very long story, worth looking up if you're a fan). So, for this show, Eels songwriter Mark Oliver Everett has issued a "fence-mending" invitation to the president, to come catch the show Saturday. Wrote Everett: "If you're more comfortable at a different house of worship, we're also doing concerts at churches. . . . . In the name of tolerance, we are trying to represent many faiths on this tour." $25. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW. 202-397-7328. For information and box office hours (you can save fees by purchasing at the venue), 202-408-3100.

ON STAGE: "Thom Pain (Based on Nothing)" Rep Stage tackles Will Eno's one-man show, heavily hyped during its off-Broadway beginnings in 2005. A sendup of the one-man-show genre, "Thom Pain" (a Pulitzer finalist) has its main character reminiscing, free-association-style, about love, loss and the pointlessness of it all for upwards of an hour. $17-$25; students, $12; seniors, $2 off. Wednesdays-Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. Also Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Through April 13. Black Box Theatre, Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 410-772-4900.

FOR FAMILIES: DinoRock's "Dinosaur Jamboree Radio Hour" The children's music trio, featuring dinosaur puppets as well as live performers, premieres this show about the dinosaurs of the radio station WDINO -- "65 million on our Mesozoic radio dial," says the program -- and its musically talented guests. $10-$25. 11 a.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100.

CONCERT: Friday Morning Music Club (Er . . . on Thursday) This group was founded nearly 125 years ago as a series of recitals, and now you can catch members performing lunch-hour chamber concerts at places such as the Ellipse Arts Center, where they'll be today. On the program: Haydn, Bononcini and Krommer. Free. Noon-1 p.m. Ellipse Arts Center, 4350 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington. 703-228-7710.

ON STAGE: Shakespeare Remixed The Southeastern Festival of Song is at the Barns at Wolf Trap tomorrow night with this show, which spotlights songs and poems that dissect or reference Shakespeare's characters; selections include offerings from the French composer Hector Berlioz, the Beatles, Kurt Weill and Stephen Sondheim. $30. 8 p.m. Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Rd., Vienna. 877-965-3872.

FOR FAMILIES: Gunston Hall Kite Festival The same day as the big kite festival at the Washington Monument, Gunston Hall Plantation (a former home of George Mason) throws its decades-old annual event, which features kite-flying, a "bubble lady," a period puppet show and hearth-cooking demonstrations. You can even bring a picnic. $8; ages 6-18, $4; 5 and younger, free. Noon-5 p.m. (rain or shine). Gunston Hall Plantation, 10709 Gunston Rd., Mason Neck. 703-550-9220.