I have never been able to shake the dissonance of the admiration and exaltation of jazz in popular culture compared with the lack of live jazz clubs. After all, many of the most famous jazz albums are recorded in one take to mimic the live set. Great jazz albums are praised in pop culture. In the midst of Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time (mostly rock with some rap and soul thrown in) are Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” at #12, Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and “Giant Steps” at #47 and #102, respectively, and Herbie Hancock’s “Headhunters” at #361. Yet, in New York, there are relatively few places to see live jazz. This is especially ironic as New York was once the top of the ladder for the jazz scene, where many musicians sought to establish lifetime residencies, including Antonio Jobim from Brazil, Louis Armstrong from New Orleans, and Charlie Parker from Kansas City.
But, it is possible to see jazz, and New York has two types of clubs: big ticket clubs, featuring mostly stars from yesteryear and expensive $25 to $50 tickets (Blue Note, Iridium, Jazz Standard), and informal clubs that feature the next rising star. The informal clubs still cost money but are worth the cover charge to see professional jazz acts.
Two clubs near school offer nightly jazz sets: The Bar Next Door features one act per night playing three sets with a cover charge for each set, and Smalls features three different acts with a cover charge for the whole night.
The Bar Next Door is on MacDougal street in the basement of the Italian restaurant Lanterna de Vittoria. For a $12 cover and one drink minimum (by the way, coffee counts as a drink and is cheap), you can check out a one-hour set from local jazz musicians. Five of us came and were seated together, one to two feet away from an alto-sax led trio whose leader was amusingly egoistic (“you can buy one CD. You can buy 10 CDs. I’ll autograph them all!”). Mingled in with some hurky jerky originals that lacked compositional genius were some well-adapted classics played in the hard bop style. The atmosphere was all candles and couples, and the pizza was not objectionable. This could be the most convenient jazz hole for Cardozo students, and is not a bad place to have a quick romantic outing.
Because the same band plays all three sets, there won’t be a changeover period between bands, and it is recommended that you check the website for set times and show up ten minutes ahead of the set.
Smalls differs from Bar Next Door in that it exists solely as a venue for jazz. Claiming to be a starting ground for some of today’s greats, such as Norah Jones, Smalls is a no-frills place to grab a $20 seat to see two original acts for the entire night and then close the night with piano jazz until the early hours of the morning.
At Smalls, I saw a group led by Israeli drummer Ziv Ravitz. He didn’t disappoint, bringing his quartet through all original pieces including a steamy Moroccan-inspired number. As a drummer, he pulled out all the stops, frequently playing with his hands and rapidly moving through different drumsticks, mallets, and brushes to work the bell and rim of his cymbals as well as the rims and skins of his drums. The evening began with only ten people in the audience and slowly filled up. Since the cover is for the whole night, people often come to stay for a night of enjoyment. Also, paying the cover permits reentry, so it is possible to go for an early set, grab a quick bite, and then head down for a second set of music.
Depending on whether you want an hour of jazz with Italian food or a whole night of jazz with a variety of acts, Bar Next Door or Smalls will have what you can’t seem to find enough of in New York.
Bar Next Door is located at 129 MacDougal Street in the basement, Smalls is located at 183 West 10th Street, also at basement level.
Planning on going to these clubs? Tell Wells how it went at music_column@cardozojurist.com.