If you have been wondering how New York City’s jazz clubs are faring following the onslaught of of Tropical Storm Sandy, Nat Chinen reports in The New York Times on several of them.
Clubs form the core infrastructure of jazz in New York, and many of the leading showcases or incubators — the Blue Note, the Village Vanguard, the Jazz Standard, the Jazz Gallery, Cornelia Street Café, Smalls, the Zinc Bar, the 55 Bar — are in the part of Manhattan that recently came to be known as the dead zone. Jazz fans regard these rooms as an always-on utility, so their closing was felt even in a city confronting more pressing concerns. The power failure downtown meant canceled bookings and many thousands of dollars in lost revenue, a serious hit in a business of slim margins.
To read the details, click here.
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
North of Manhattan, just south of the Tappan Zee Bridge, sat a lovely restaurant called the Red Hat on the River, where I’ve been playing with a jazz group every Wednesday for several years. We started out as Carmen Leggio’s trio, and since Carmen passed away, pianist Hiroshi Yamazaki and I have kept the music going, with the help of two other musicians who alternate Wednesdays there. Hurricane Irene spilled water up over the restaurant’s floor and kept them closed for a week last year, but Sandy was much worse. The storm surge came up the river and brought five feet of water into the ground floor of the Red Hat. It is now gutted of flooring and wallboard and banquettes, and workmen are busy clearing out the debris and starting to rebuild. So we won’t have jazz at the Red Hat any time soon. The place sits six or eight feet above the river level in normal times, so you can see what a huge surge that was.
It’s very sad to read that. With all due respect: What’s up there with your electric infrastructure? Man, NY is still the jazz capital. First, Katrina hit the cradle of jazz, now Sandy its capital. A tragedy. I’m with you, East Coasters.
All I can contribute is this great song in probably the most New-York style of all versions:
“Pick Yourself Up”
May it help you up!