Your Perfect Jazz Club

[Eyemo]

What would be your perfect jazz club...and why?

 

[dhermann1]

I can tell you a few great jazz clubs I've been in, and what made them great. How about the Blue Note in the Village and Lenox Lounge in Harlem? They're both small, hold maybe 200 people at most. They're old, especially Lenox Lounge. They have cool neon signs in front. They're dark and murky. They have a nice bar in front, and tables in the back. They have a stage which is barely big enough to hold 6 musicians. The Lenox Lounge has great soul food, not so sure about the food at Blue Note.
The acoustics are passable. I've been in small clubs that had very narrow main rooms, and rather loud sound systems, so you were really listening to the sound system, not the music. The main room should be somewhat wide, to incorporate good sight lines. This is not always possible in the typical basement joints that a lot of jazz clubs inhabit. And a high enough ceiling would be nice, also not always found.
There should be lots of old photos on the walls of jazz greats who have played there in the past. Of course, you should be able to get any kind of drink you want.
As far as tables and chairs, most joints have tiny tables where you can barely squeeze your knees in. It would be nice to have enough knee, hip and elbow room.
There should be an experienced bartender, and good looking, but not TOO good looking wait staff, who just do their job and stay out of the way otherwise. In a true jazz club, the staff should always seem a little overworked and harried. And they should emit a deeply wordly wise vibe. No chirpy teenagers!
A couple of larger places I would mention are the Garage and the Village Gate, also in the Village. The Gate originally had 3 performance venues, including a very awkward but large space in the basement, and a large and small space upstairs. It's now a drug store upstairs, and a good but awfully sheeshy space downstairs called le Poisson Rouge. (They have great acts there, but it's SOOO tres tres. I have a problem with that.)
The Garage is an old garage (duh). Slightly irregular layout, but great food and a nice sized band stand that holds a full 18 piece big band. Very slick. I guess slick is OK, but somehow shabby seems more authentic. But too shabby is gross.
As I mentioned above, basements seem to be good jazz joints, as long as they have the requisite space. Something speakeasy-ish about a basement.
OK, those are a few thoughts.

 

[clubwitsend]

My favorite jazz club growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio was The Blue Wisp...it used to be in this perfect smoky basement location downtown- slightly cramped...no real layout to the tables...with a little 8" raised stage in the front for the musicians...I hung out there before I was of drinking age, and the bartender always served EVERYONE (I think because they needed the money), and she looked like:

There was a little neon sign out front, and one inside pointing down the stairs.

I really miss that place...

 

[Eyemo]

Some great suggestions there...Excellent!!

 

[dhermann1]

One other thing a jazz club really ought to have, tho I'm thoroughly glad they no longer do, is cigaret smoke. Tons of it.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"The Ellington"

"The Ellington is a classic style Jazz Bar that ticks all the boxes!, and a stage the size of a "postage Stamp"its the only Bar that has ever asked what brand of gin I want in a Gin & Tonic! there are booths upstairs where you can chat and watch the show on a TV Screen, and another Cocktail bar, I like to catch the early shows which start at 7.30pm"

http://www.ellingtonjazz.com.au/index.php/schedule/month/11/show/452

 

[Forgotten Man]

http://www.ellingtonjazz.com.au/index.php/schedule/month/11/show/452

That's a swell poster, the gals look pretty sharp in their khaki, but for some reason, they always wear the men's caps... which are too pointed for their sweet faces. Almost looks like duns caps... lol I'm sure they do sound good though. Interesting, I believe when the Andrews preformed Bounce Me Brother with the Solid Four they didn't wear any OS caps. Oh well.

I've never been to a "Jazz" club but, been to many swing clubs... Now when I see an old movie from the 30s or 40s and there's Jazz happenin' it's mostly in an old brick basement of some old building. Tables with checkered clothes, cane back chairs and a piano player with a striped shirt, sleeve garters, a Derby hat and a row of beer mugs on the top of the piano... with some skattin' boys on the stage with some wailin' saxes and trumpets... and a man beatin' out hot riffs on a guitar... And of course, the little cut out picture of a cat with a spittoon at the foot of it saying: FEED THE KITTY! lol

That's what I'd want to see in a Jazz club!

 

[dhermann1]

Now that sounds almost like a Honky Tonk. The question arises, what type of jazz are we talking about? If it's pre war jazz, then a honky tonk or speak easy is called for. If it's post war Be Bop, then a cooler lounge atmosphere is required.

 

[clubwitsend]

Thinking about all of these smoky jazz clubs kinda makes me miss smoking! So terrible!! Yikes!

 

[Rundquist]

My kind of jazz club is one that is actually open. Ambiance and history are one thing, but the music is what's the most important.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Why not have both? I believe there's a serious lack in clubs today when it comes to atmosphere or a theme... too cheap to put a little money and effort into making a place really interesting.

My favorite (what I consider true Jazz) is the pre-war stuff... we're talking 1927 to 1935. Louis Armstrong ain't no "Honkey Tonk" Hot syncopation ain't "Honkey Tonk" we're talkin' sharp, tight scatting like the Rhythm Boys, or early Mills Brothers... ya know, HOT JAZZ MAN! Duke Ellington, Paul Whiteman, Ambrose Orchestra, Ted Lewis, Ina Ray Hutton... the list goes on!

I do like 40's Lester Young, he's pretty groovy.

 

[clubwitsend]

Why not have both? I believe there's a serious lack in clubs today when it comes to atmosphere or a theme... too cheap to put a little money and effort into making a place really interesting.

My favorite (what I consider true Jazz) is the pre-war stuff... we're talking 1927 to 1935. Louis Armstrong ain't no "Honkey Tonk" Hot syncopation ain't "Honkey Tonk" we're talkin' sharp, tight scatting like the Rhythm Boys, or early Mills Brothers... ya know, HOT JAZZ MAN! Duke Ellington, Paul Whiteman, Ambrose Orchestra, Ted Lewis, Ina Ray Hutton... the list goes on!

I do like 40's Lester Young, he's pretty groovy.

Oh, I love that you posted this! I run a monthly Jazz Age event in NYC ( http://www.clubwitsend.com ), and this is exactly what we play! Unfortunately, we don't own a venue or anything, but we do make it a grand time Our playlist is mostly guys like Paul Whiteman, Fletcher Henderson, Bix Beiderbecke, Armstrong, Ellington, early Calloway, and some fun dixieland and ragtime tossed in. I had a GREAT time putting together the playlist for our Hallowe'en event...SO many amazing, spooky, hot jazz tunes of that era!

 

[Rundquist]

If modern jazz music were vibrant, there would be a chance that it would gain popularity. Jazz has become an art form that is taught in school, and not on the street. It’s become irrelevant to the average person. I would like jazz to be a music that is appreciated by everyone.

There’s nothing wrong with ambience and a cool club. However, I would hate for jazz to become a nostalgia act. I don’t want it to be the equivalent of guys in the 40’s dressing up in 1890’s arm garters and paper collars.

 

[Forgotten Man]

There’s nothing wrong with ambience and a cool club. However, I would hate for jazz to become a nostalgia act. I don’t want it to be the equivalent of guys in the 40’s dressing up in 1890’s arm garters and paper collars.

Rundquist, what are you driving at?

Last time I checked nobody of that icky vintage clothing scene you seem to dislike crashes modern crummy Jazz joints.

Gee whiz, I get so tired of all those clubs of early hot jazz, those dorks with their clean cut appearance, and those slick hair styled guys behind the bar shaking their martini shakers in unison like it's some Busby Berkley movie... Oh if they could just all disappear... Wait, they did... they don't exist no more! WHOA! That's crazy, well, that's good because if we had any club like that, it would annoy Runquist and we can't have that! lol

PS: I believe the thread is "Your Perfect Jazz Club" and I described mine, no one else has to come if they don't appreciate what I may define as perfect.

 

[Eyemo]

Top Stuff!..
Ok, I'll explain... My friend and myself are going to set up a WW2Museum/Jazz club in an old 1933built tin shed style garage in the Township of Laugharne, South Wales.

The Look is Wales, 1942-44 a town occupied by the GIs. It's a slightly tatty dark Nissen Hut type of feel.

Please feel free to contribute to the idea...it's a long way off, but we are determined to get the mood/feel/look right.

Thanks all...:eusa_clap

 

[dhermann1]

This is an interesting diversion from the main topic here. When I was a kid in the 50's and 60's, most Dixieland jazz (i.e. 20's) was played by old fogies, who played it in a lame, middle aged manner, that just killed the vitality of the music, and made young people equate it with foginess. At Club Wit's End, they've found a whole new generation of musicians who have rediscovered this music, and have infused it with a great youthful energy again. And it's like night and day, the difference.
If you have a WW II style club going, you of course will want to concentrate on Swing era music. But this still gives you a lot of leeway. I would suggest trying to have a big room and a small room. The big room can be for dance events, while the small room can host the small groups. The small group venue could present a greater variety of styles of jazz, I would imagine.
One other thing I seen that could help. If you want to have a place where you can have big, or biggish, bands for people to dance to, set it up so there's like a mezzanine, or some place where people can sit and drink and watch the dancers. The whole key to keeping any enterprise like this going is selling enough liquor. That's absolutely it in a nutshell. Dancers will provide entertainment, but they sure as heck won't want to drink. Gatorade, maybe. Having drinkers subsidize the whole operation is an absolute must.

 

[clubwitsend]

This is an interesting diversion from the main topic here. When I was a kid in the 50's and 60's, most Dixieland jazz (i.e. 20's) was played by old fogies, who played it in a lame, middle aged manner, that just killed the vitality of the music, and made young people equate it with foginess. At Club Wit's End, they've found a whole new generation of musicians who have rediscovered this music, and have infused it with a great youthful energy again. And it's like night and day, the difference.
If you have a WW II style club going, you of course will want to concentrate on Swing era music. But this still gives you a lot of leeway. I would suggest trying to have a big room and a small room. The big room can be for dance events, while the small room can host the small groups. The small group venue could present a greater variety of styles of jazz, I would imagine.
One other thing I seen that could help. If you want to have a place where you can have big, or biggish, bands for people to dance to, set it up so there's like a mezzanine, or some place where people can sit and drink and watch the dancers. The whole key to keeping any enterprise like this going is selling enough liquor. That's absolutely it in a nutshell. Dancers will provide entertainment, but they sure as heck won't want to drink. Gatorade, maybe. Having drinkers subsidize the whole operation is an absolute must.

Thanks for the Wit's End shout out, Dan! I'm really glad people notice the difference in playing this music in a fogey-ish way, and playing it with the energy it should have...as Snoop Dogg would say "drop it like its hot!" And I think that's how that music should be delivered...

And I totally agree on the dancers/drinking thing...I almost think if there's a dance event you have to have a drink minimum with entry...they can't get something for nothing!

 

[dhermann1]

Exactly. I have seen SOOO many places opened up by naive people who think they're gonna have a great place for jazz and dancing, only to find out what a bunch of SKINFLINTS swing dancers can be (sorry guys, but that's the sad truth.) Drinkers HAVE TO subsidize the whole operation or it will quiickly go bust.

 

[Miss 1929]

I can dream, can't I?

My perfect jazz club would have ...

Coat check - nothing worse than having to put your coat on the back of a chair and having it drag through god knows what...

Fabulous deco decor.

A discreet sound system - most instruments should be acoustic and the room should not be too big to hear them, but the vocals do need reinforcement.

Staff that keeps their voices down, especially during solos.

NO BLENDER! Too noisy.

A really good grand piano. Tuned and maintained.

Enough lighting to read the menu but not so much that it is bright.

A small dance floor NEXT to the stage, not in front of it. People come to hear the music and watch the musicians, it's great if you want to dance but the music is the focus.

An audience that understands and appreciates the music, and APPLAUDS.

Decent pay for the band.

 

[dhermann1]

All those things are great ideas, but a tuned piano??? Dream on!