Jazz Near Me
Cover a show or event, profile a venue, extol the virtues of a local jazz organization or write about the jazz scene in your home town.
Mariza at Town Hall
by Ernest Barteldes
Mariza Town Halk New York, NY October 15, 2016 As part of her first major U.S. tour in nearly five years (she took a break to start a family), Mariza kicked off her set at Town Hall in a more traditional manner, backed by Portuguese and Spanish guitars and acoustic bass, which acknowledged the heritage of the music of Alfama, the Lisbon neighborhood where her career began--including the classic black dress worn by most fado ...
read moreJason Marsalis Quartet at SOUTH
by Steve Bryant
Jason Marsalis Quartet SOUTH Philadelphia, PA October 5, 2015 It is difficult under normal circumstances for the youngest sibling in a family. When that family is named Marsalis then the dynamic changes and there exists a whole slew of standards and expectations. That is the environment that Jason Marsalis has had to deal with over the course of his life. Of course it doesn't help that his older brothers, trumpeter Wynton and ...
read moreThe Cookers at Birdland
by Dorothy Johnson-Laird
The Cookers Birdland New York, NY September 17, 2016 On a warm night in New York City The Cookers took the stage. This appearance at Birdland marked the release of their latest CD, The Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart (Smoke Session Records, 2016). Each member of the front line is a jazz stalwart, and leaders of their own bands. Billy Harper is old enough to have played with Art Blakey's Jazz ...
read moreParis Jazz Scene: Summer 2016
by Patricia Myers
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: “The American in Paris is the best American. It is more fun for an intelligent person to live in an intelligent country. France has only two things toward which we drift as we grow older--intelligence and good manners." And I would add great jazz! Although many think that much of jny: Paris shuts down in mid-to late-summer, that's not true for most of the 30-some regular jazz clubs, although a few close for two ...
read moreThe Merion Inn: A Jazz Gem in Cape May, New Jersey
by Budd Kopman
Cape May, New Jersey is one of the oldest resort towns in the United States. Dating back to the Victorian Era, it has, over the past few decades hosted jazz festivals in April and November. The Merion Inn, on Decatur Street, is one of the oldest bar/restaurants in Cape May. It is a place for adults who value a good (real) martini, good food and good vibes created by top-notch jazz pianists playing daily from 5 PM, and ...
read moreGreen Lady Lounge: A Jazz Club With a Point of View
by Larry Kopitnik
Stepping into the Green Lady Lounge feels like stepping back into the 1940s. Dim lighting, red walls, red drapes and faux-classic art lining the walls all build a classic ambiance. This must be what a jazz club in jny: Kansas City used to feel like. That's all by design. It's owner John Scott's vision or, as he puts it, his point of view. “It's the club's responsibility to get the patrons in," Scott explains. “When I ...
read moreAt Mara's... Sweet, Savory and Seasoned with Jazz
by Gloria Krolak
On a Friday night at Mara's Café and Bakery in Berkeley Heights, you can satisfy several cravings at once: Answer the dinner bell, soothe a sweet tooth and hear eight New Jersey locals wail at some not-so-standard jazz tunes. The octet is Jazz Lab 6+2, which began as a sextet, then added two more players. These are serious and gifted multi-instrumentalists who burn to share what they've concocted in their laboratory. Jackson Liu, Mara's owner, gave them free rein over ...
read moreRuby Lee's Dishes up Blues, Jazz and Soul Food
by Gloria Krolak
Three-year-old Ruby Lee's, on the quieter north end of Hilton Head Island, SC, serves up the blues, jazz and soul food. That mix helps set the venue apart from more than 300 restaurants vying for the patronage of the resort town's 39,000 residents and some 2.5 million annual visitors. Proud matriarch and head chef Deborah Govan, who offered these stats, told me that since she founded the place named after her mother in 2013, Ruby Lee's has climbed ...
read moreDue Mari Joins the New Brunswick Jazz Project
by Gloria Krolak
Thanks to the efforts of three friends, Virginia DeBerry, Jimmy Lenihan and Mike Tublin, creators of the New Brunswick Jazz Project, it's getting harder to dine out in that Middlesex County city without hearing some jazz. The Hyatt Regency, Tumulty's Pub, The Garden State Ale House and Esquina Latina all offer jazz on a regular schedule. Since last May, add Friday nights at Due Mari to that list. Due Mari is a modern Italian restaurant on Albany Street ...
read moreSun and Stars at Montclair Jazz Festival
by Gloria Krolak
At the 2015 Montclair Jazz Festival, the sun broiled and the stars sparkled over some 6,000 jazz fans, that number announced by emcee Gary Walker, a popular WBGO radio on-air personality. Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor S. Epatha Merkerson, best known for her 17 seasons as Lieutenant Van Buren on NBC's “Law and Order," was back as the festival's Mistress of Ceremonies. The annual one-day event, free to all comers, was held at Nishuane Park and produced by the ...
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