Elijah Jamal Balbed is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator from Washington, DC. An alumnus of Howard University’s legendary Jazz program, Elijah has been named Artist of the Year (2016), Best Tenor Saxophonist (2013) and Best New Jazz Musician (2010) by the Washington City Paper, and has participated in residencies at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead), DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (202Creates), Strathmore, the historic (and now defunct) Jazz club Bohemian Caverns, and a month-long stint at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Doha, Qatar.