SmallsLIVE/Mezzrow Newsletter. January 28th. "Warm the Earth!"

SmallsLIVE/Mezzrow Newsletter

Well, we're past the holiday fervor and now even past all the conventions and meetings and tourist waves. Now we're into the frigid doldrums of deep January. The wicked chill is enough to put fear in the heart of even the most earnest hangers. This is when the streets of Greenwich Village are desolate - a frozen ghost town. Smalls gets quiet, finally. After the holiday in and out tumult the club is now quiet, not dead, but tranquil. The jazz continues unabashedly anyway.

On one such night I trekked down 7th avenue half blinded with tears as the cruel wind lashed at my eyes. I was alone on the streets. I turned the corner onto West 10th and descended into the warmth of the basement at number 183. In this hearth there was life. Jazz denizens were seated on benches, some with hot toddies and others steadfastly with cold beer. The band was the great Steve Nelson. Steve has the disheveled appearance of a college professor in the Einstein mold. But once behind his vibraphone he is transformed into a powerful genie, his mallets alighting with blinding speed. Notes pour forth in golden shimmering arcs, wizardry.. His seasoned quartet features the rock solid Rick Germanson on piano, Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass and Charles Gould and exudes that New York professionalism that is the true jazz demeanor. Steve guided his quartet tune after tune through his musical landscapes marked with maturity and feeling. This was the real deal. This was the old Bradley's-esque modern bebop sound of New York. No compromise. I sat at the bar and listened, edified by the outpouring. So rare and so wonderful when encountered, the true jazz flavor. Outside a frozen tundra wasteland and inside, this burning coal fire of jazz music. Smalls was like a furnace supplying the heat to everyone around and into the Earth and deep into the entire Universe until everything is warmed in the bebop grace.

Don't give up on jazz, it can still nurture and delight. Please investigate our schedule, come for a show and warm up down here. Don't forget about our live stream! I wish everyone peace and productivity and hope to see you at the clubs.

Regards,

Spike

Monday - 1/28
Anthony Pinciotti Trio
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Anthony Pinciotti - Drums, Steve Cardenas - Guitar, Ben Street - Bass

Monday - 1/28
Joel Ross Quartet
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Joel Ross - Vibraphone, Sergio Tabanico - Tenor Sax, Kanoa Mendenhall - Bass, Jeremy Dutton - Drums

Monday - 1/28
Jon Elbaz Trio "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Jon Elbaz - Piano

Tuesday - 1/29
Steve Nelson Quartet
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Steve Nelson - Vibraphone, Rick Germanson - Piano, Kiyoshi Kitagawa - Bass, Charles Goold - Drums

Tuesday - 1/29
Abraham Burton Quartet
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Abraham Burton - Tenor Sax

Tuesday - 1/29
Malik McLaurine Trio "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Malik McLaurine - Bass, Julius Rodriguez - Piano

Wednesday - 1/30
Peter Brendler Quintet
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Peter Brendler - Bass, Rich Perry - Tenor Sax, Billy Drewes - Alto Sax, Zach Lapidus - Piano, Mark Ferber - Drums

Wednesday - 1/30
Charles Blenzig Group
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Charles Blenzig - Piano, Corey Wallace - Trombone, Christopher McBride - Alto Sax, Joshua Crumbly - Bass, Kush Abadey - Drums

Wednesday - 1/30
Davis Whitfield Trio "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Davis Whitfield - Piano, Daniel Duke - Bass, Dan Nadeau - Drums

Thursday - 1/31
Davy Mooney Quartet
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Davy Mooney - Guitar, John Ellis - Soprano Sax, Matt Clohesy - Bass, Mark Ferber - Drums

Thursday - 1/31
Rob Garcia Quartet
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Rob Garcia - Drums, Noah Preminger - Tenor Sax, Gary Versace - Organ, John Hebert - Bass

Thursday - 1/31
Jonathan Thomas Quartet "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Jonathan Thomas - Piano, Brent Birckhead - Alto Sax, Barry Stephenson - Bass, Henry Conerway III - Drums

Friday & Saturday - 2/1-2/2
Brian Charette Trio
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
$20 for this show
with Brian Charette - Organ, Yotam Silberstein - Guitar, Ari Hoenig - Drums

Friday & Saturday - 2/1-2/2
Steve Davis Quintet
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
$20 for this show
with Steve Davis - Trombone, Tony Davis - Guitar, Taber Gable - Piano, Matt Dwonszyk - Bass, Jonathan Barber - Drums

Friday - 2/1
Corey Wallace DUBtet "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Corey Wallace - Trombone

Saturday - 2/2
Smalls Showcase:
Ai Murakami Quartet
Sets at 4:30 PM & 6 PM
with Ai Murakami - Drums, Zaid Nasser - Alto Sax, Tardo Hammer - Piano, Lee Hudson - Bass

Saturday - 2/2
Brooklyn Circle
1 AM to close
with Stacy Dillard - Tenor Sax, Diallo House - Bass, Ismail Lawal - Drums

Sunday - 2/3
Vocal Masterclass
with Marion Cowings
from 1:00 PM until 3 PM
The Marion Cowings Jazz Vocal Workshop is a weekly session that gives vocalists a forum to develop the elements that define a jazz vocal performance.

Sunday - 2/3
Jon Roche & Friends
Sets at 4:30 PM & 6 PM
with Jon Roche - Bass, Stefano Doglioni - Clarinet, Pasquale Grasso - Guitar, Clifford Barbaro - Drums

Sunday - 2/3
Tardo Hammer Trio
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Tardo Hammer - Piano, Lee Hudson - Bass, Steve Williams - Drums

Sunday - 2/3
Ralph Lalama & "Bop-Juice"
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Ralph Lalama - Tenor Sax, Akiko Tsuruga - Organ, Clifford Barbaro - Drums

Sunday - 2/3
Ben Zweig Trio "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Ben Zweig - Drums, Ben Rosenblum - Piano, Marty Jaffe - Bass

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