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In Downturn, Finding a New Spot for Jazz
NYACK has a decades-long tradition of jazz jam sessions. So when Riverspace, a cultural center on Main Street, canceled its jams after 2 ½ years recently, it wasn’t long before the pianist Richard Sussman, who helped run the sessions, found a new home for them directly across the street — at Olive’s.
While Olive’s has presented music for 29 years, its jazz offerings hit a high point in the late 1980s, when the celebrated big-band drummer Mel Lewis led a small group there. But Mr. Sussman said he was drawn to the spot by its 50-foot-long bar, ample stage and friendly owner, Marianne Olive, who said the metal-heavy cast to her recent programming did not necessarily reflect her personal taste.
At the inaugural jam session last month, core supporters and new faces showed their approval as Mr. Sussman and his associates — Cameron Brown on bass and Steve Johns on drums, augmented for the evening by the saxophonist Dick Oatts and the trumpeter Scott Wendholdt — swung through an opening set of standards and originals. Later, jam participants ranging from a saxophone sensation, Elijah Shiffer, 17, to a seasoned pro, the drummer Ray LeVier, 40, impressed as well. Subsequent shows have been well attended and well received.
Not that anyone has illusions. Competition for the entertainment dollar, particularly fierce amid the economic downturn, is a fact of life at any time in Nyack. Even as Mr. Sussman’s show was in full swing, so was another jazz jam — albeit one that tended more toward the avant-garde — at the Old Fashion Restaurant on Broadway. At the same time, contemporary music blared from bars along Main Street and the surrounding blocks.
While Olive’s has presented music for 29 years, its jazz offerings hit a high point in the late 1980s, when the celebrated big-band drummer Mel Lewis led a small group there. But Mr. Sussman said he was drawn to the spot by its 50-foot-long bar, ample stage and friendly owner, Marianne Olive, who said the metal-heavy cast to her recent programming did not necessarily reflect her personal taste.
At the inaugural jam session last month, core supporters and new faces showed their approval as Mr. Sussman and his associates — Cameron Brown on bass and Steve Johns on drums, augmented for the evening by the saxophonist Dick Oatts and the trumpeter Scott Wendholdt — swung through an opening set of standards and originals. Later, jam participants ranging from a saxophone sensation, Elijah Shiffer, 17, to a seasoned pro, the drummer Ray LeVier, 40, impressed as well. Subsequent shows have been well attended and well received.
Not that anyone has illusions. Competition for the entertainment dollar, particularly fierce amid the economic downturn, is a fact of life at any time in Nyack. Even as Mr. Sussman’s show was in full swing, so was another jazz jam — albeit one that tended more toward the avant-garde — at the Old Fashion Restaurant on Broadway. At the same time, contemporary music blared from bars along Main Street and the surrounding blocks.
