THINKING ABOUT JAZZ - DECEMber 13, 2025 - 1pm - Nasar Abadey

In conversation with Antoine Sanfuentes

Nasar Abadey is one of the great jazz masters in the DC jazz community. His playing carries the drive and openness of Elvin Jones, the sophistication of Billy Jabali Hart, and the deep ancestral grounding of Babatunde Olatunji. He is not only a brilliant drummer but a leader and thinker shaping a living tradition in the nation’s capital. Nasar is the founder and leader of SUPERNOVA, a band he describes as Multi D, meaning multi-dimensional and multi-directional. The group moves through traditional African rhythms, bebop, fusion, Afro Cuban and Afro Brazilian elements, modal improvisation, and free form. Based in Washington, DC since 1977, he has performed with artists from Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald to Sun Ra, Charlie Rouse, Stanley Turrentine, Gregory Porter, and many of the District’s own greats including Lawrence Wheatley, Buck Hill, and Butch Warren. His SUPERNOVA Chamber Orchestra adds strings and voice, and his Washington Renaissance Orchestra expands the canvas with a full big band. He also serves on the jazz faculty at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where he demystifies rudiments, champions wellness off the bandstand, and mentors the next generation, including his son, drummer Kush Abadey. He teaches that all drumming begins with the rudiments, that sound and intention matter as much as technique, and that music can heal when the artist plays with that intention. 

Antoine Sanfuentes will engage Nasar in an in-depth conversation about his life in jazz, exploring his journey through Buffalo and Washington, his mentors and inspirations, his philosophy of teaching and wellness, his work with SUPERNOVA and the Washington Renaissance Orchestra, and his hopes for the future of the music. In Nasar’s own story, a journey found its direction when John Coltrane truly opened his ears.