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deerheadinn.com
Deer Head Inn claims two titles: “Home for Jazz
in the Poconos” and “the oldest continuously
running” domestic jazz club. The venue hosts
a Thursday evening jazz jam. In January, the
venue booked Sue Giles & The Supreme Love
Musicians and the Paul Jost Trio.
MCG Jazz
1815 Metropolitan St.
Pittsburgh, PA
(412) 322-0800
mcgjazz.org
For nearly 30 years, MCG Jazz has
presented top-notch jazz talent alongside
worthwhile educational programs. Past
performers at its 350-seat music hall include
Ramsey Lewis, Acoustic Alchemy and
Monty Alexander.
South Jazz Parlor
600 N. Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 600-0220
southrestaurant.net
Marcus Strickland, Orrin Evans’ Captain
Black Big Band and Walter Beasley have all
recently performed at the South Jazz Parlor.
The venue holds a weekly jam session with
Michael Tozzi and Luke O’Reilly.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Blues Alley
1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, D.C.
(202) 337-4141
bluesalley.com
When a venue claims it books jazz year
’round, it sometimes seems like a stretch.
Blues Alley has literally booked artists for
around 360 nights each year. Operating for
more than 50 years, the club has made a
name for itself by hosting artists like Arturo
Sandoval, Jane Monheit, Cyrus Chestnut
and Gary Burton. The staff is devoted to
jazz education: The Blues Alley Jazz Society
sponsors a summer camp and a youth jazz
festival in addition to running a youth jazz
orchestra.
KC JAZZ CLUB AT THE KENNEDY
CENTER
2700 F Street NW
Washington, D.C.
(202) 416-8524
kennedy-center.org
Pianist Jason Moran is the artistic director
for jazz at the Kennedy Center, overseeing
bookings at a number of spaces inside the
venue. Of those venues, the KC Jazz Club,
which seats 160, is a setting for more intimate
performances. The club books national acts
like the Marquis Hill Blacktet and the Geoffrey
Keezer Trio. Bands like the Maria Schneider
Orchestra play at larger concert halls
elsewhere in the Kennedy Center.
Twins Jazz Lounge
1344 U Street NW
Washington, D.C.
(202) 234-0072
twinsjazz.com
Students get half-price tickets for some
Friday concerts at this U Street Corridor
jazz landmark. Twins presents local,
regional and international acts seven nights
a week, also offering American, Ethiopian
and Caribbean cuisine.
Vocalist Sara Serpa performs at Los Angeles jazz club the Blue Whale.
Blue Whale Nurtures Creativity
It’s 8 p.m. on a Friday night at the Blue Whale,
the Little Tokyo neighborhood’s prime jazz
outpost. Tucked away in a nondescript
third-floor corner of the mall on Onizuka
Street, it’s not a spot that unsuspecting tourists
would wander past. People who come to the listening
room know why they’re here.
In a space of seven years, the Blue Whale
has become the most consistent Los Angeles
showcase for cutting-edge jazz. Local artists—
some right out of college—and longtime veterans
play here. Billy Childs, Peter Erskine and
Bill Cunliffe might break in new bands, and
touring groups led by Satoko Fujii, Allison
Miller and Avishai Cohen all stop at the Whale.
Tonight, proprietor Joon Lee works the
front door, collecting the $15 cover fee. Some
nights it’s $10, some nights $20. He’s cordial
but firm. The challenges of booking new music
seven nights a week has sharpened Lee’s eye for
the bottom line. But when two young women
step out in the middle of the first piece and protest
that this isn’t their idea of jazz, he cheerfully
refunds their money.
Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s pianist,
Jeff Babko, leads an aggregation tonight.
Babko grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley
and cut his teeth in outfits like Bone Soir,
the five-trombone group headed by George
Bohanon. “Jeff’s one of the guys who’s always
trying new things for the room,” Lee explained.
“One night he had a mannequin in the middle
of the room, a VHS TV in front and a balloon
artist off to the side.”
Lee allows his artists the freedom to alter
the interior if it figures into their presentations.
Pianist-composer Josh Nelson is well known
for his multimedia extravaganzas at the Whale.
The room is essentially two rooms: the bar near
the front door and the playing area.
The 2,200-square-foot room can accommodate
150 people, and Babko has come close
to filling it. He heads a rhythm section that is
visited by tenor saxophonist Chris Speed and
vocalist Nayanna Holley.
A native of Seoul, South Korea, Lee was an
unlikely candidate for impresario. As an
18-year-old architecture student in Brooklyn,
he had his jazz epiphany when he heard Chick
Corea and Bobby McFerrin perform as a duet.
“I dropped out and decided I had to be close to
music,” Lee recalled.
“I came out here because I wanted to start
something new,” he said.
Lee was surprised at the number of fine
musicians in the music programs of UCLA,
USC, Cal State Northridge and CalArts. “They
get better and better each year,” he said. “But
I saw that it was hard for them to find places
to play. I want this place to be an extension of
school for them—I want them to stay in that
creativity zone.”
Babko got an idea of the room’s worth when
he visited New York’s Jazz Standard club
recently: “I went back to say hello to the guys in
Antonio Hart’s band, and they were all talking
about the Blue Whale.”
Asked about the parameters of his booking
policy, Lee said, “I don’t mind if it’s straightahead
jazz, but it has to be really swinging. I
favor groups with their own identity. I want
them to try new things here. I love to see them
being creative—that’s what I’m always after.”
—Kirk Silsbee
MICHAEL JACKSON
FEBRUARY 2017 DOWNBEAT 51