As I have mentioned in my prior posts, I love live jazz, live music in almost any genre, so I felt a particular sense of loss when I got news that the Jazz Standard, one of New York’s premier venue for live jazz, announced it is closing its doors permanently. In the face of the profound and devastating losses we have suffered in the past nine months, this may not seem significant, but places like the Jazz Standard, venues for any kind of live performance, are part of what makes New York special, part of the fabric of the city, not to mention providing work for musicians, servers, stage crew, and others who make their living bringing us music.
It is not the first club of significance to close, every era has experienced such closings, each part of the cycle of renewal. Years ago, there was Fat Tuesday’s on Second Avenue, where I remember seeing Cassandra Wilson cast her spell for the first time, Sweet Basil in the Village, where I saw many great shows, including a young Renee Rosnes, tearing it up, and the Ballroom on the northern edge of Chelsea, not primarily a jazz venue, but one of my favorite venues for live music, and where I still recall being completely transported sitting just a few feet away from the stage as Caetano Veloso one night and then Gilberto Gil another, each alone with a guitar, brought the audience to Brazil for a night. To mention only a few.
But this one feels different, not a part of the natural process of a vibrant city constantly reinventing itself. The Jazz Standard was one of my favorite venues over the years. I loved sitting against the wall on the far side of the room, nursing a flight of bourbon, listening to some of my favorite players and discovering others like the pianist Helen Sung and the surprising Columbian jazz harpist, Edmar Castaneda. And brunch with the teenage players who performed many Sundays was not only good music but promised an exciting future for jazz performance. I have to believe that jazz will continue to flourish in other clubs and stages and that New York will remain the place where musicians from all over the world make their homes and the creative center of their lives.
With the ingenuity and creativity that marks so much of the arts, virtual events across the spectrum have provided some sustenance to the artists and creators, the venues, and the audience. They cannot replace the interaction between the musicians and the audience which is the essence of live music, but the sightlines are good and the audience attentive, and it is convenient to be able to listen at your leisure. And to support musicians in what is a really difficult time for them. The reach of these virtual platforms is extraordinary, providing opportunities for enjoyment and participation by audiences wherever located. And they inspire hope, and underline the appetite, the need, of people to connect, to share these experiences, to create.
Another genre of music I love has also suffered important losses of a different kind, when, after John Prine died earlier this year, Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver also died. And sadly, Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve Earle and a wonderful singer-songwriter in his own right, died much too young. Together they have produced some of the great music of my lifetime, performed by many wonderful artists as well as themselves. I will share some of my favorite tunes with you if you will share with me.
Meanwhile, please stay safe and healthy and I hope you are able to celebrate with your loved ones, even if virtually, over this holiday season.
The Bottom Line, Rupert Homes and Joe Jackson – my duddy Drummer Gary Burke, payed with them both The Blues Project at Cafe A Go Go ,Reno Sweeney Ellen Greene and Melissa Manchester and Midler and so many more, oh, and Barbara Cook, and Andrea Marcovicci finding herself on stage… David Patrick Kelly T, Upstairs at Max’s,Martin Mull and his Favorite Furniture, The list goes on. Great piece stirring memories like a dry martin – and sometimes shaking them as well.