~Does Anybody DJ a Successful Jazz Night?!~
NateBizzo
2,328 Posts
Does this exist anywhere?I stopped doing my radio show a while ago and want to start doing a Jazz night here in town, but I wonder if it's worth the effort.Anybody have any insight or advice? Is it working for anybody?
Comments
Nate, got your message last night, we're on it today. Will holler in a few.
It was a favorite gig. I loved hearing those fat mono platters on a big system. I'd be shitfaced every Wednesday by 8:00. That would present a problem on some of the iPod nights.
Yes. See? None of the heads evar come out.
Seriously there were mostly sex in the city Becky's drinking white wine. Think of that scene and replace the typical ethno-house crap with Sonny Clark.
Not being able to have speakers on the patio ruins it. At the same time, you might be able to get better brunch crowd downstairs now that there' no smoking. That was the problem before. That place smelled like a hobo's nutsack after Fri/Sat night craziness.
Trying to get people to do serious listening hasn't worked for me or anyone I know in Baltimore who tries to operate in a bar setting. Maybe in larger cities where you get larger numbers of people who share the given DJ event's niche focus?
Anyway, what I learned from that Brazilian night was restaurants or cafes where people can sit down w/o alcohol and mingling being their primary focus work better than bars and clubs.
I did this in Seattle for a couple of months at a cafe called the Green Cat. It was really nice - I played jazz, sunshine pop, soul, and Brazilian. One of the most enjoyable gigs I've ever had. I eventually stopped because they couldn't pay me. The cafe went out of business a few months later.
Me me me! I've rapped with Big Marsh and Birdman during their night. Had dinner too!
Indeed, lots of DC folks have swung by(Nitekrawler, Kid Gusto,DJ Neville C, Secret Chimp, etc), and we usually get very positive feedback from both the staff and customers. The Jazz Corner is every Wed night from 7-10pm, and DCDigga (my buddy Marshall, one of the main movers at Memory Lane Records In Suitland MD) and I switch off. He will be there this coming Wed night.
When Fatback and I started it 3 years ago, we envisioned a space where we could really spotlight whatever we felt like, and we still do it in that vein. Some nights are heavy on the funky jazz, some nights are almost exclusively hard bop and classic stuff, and occasionally we will veer off into soul or jazz-inflected hip hop stuff. One time Fatback brought in and mic'ed his victrola and rocked 78s for a set! I still enjoy doing it, and while some nights are better than others, it's still pretty rewarding all in all. Please tell your friends and any DC heads out there to stop by and have a drink, get a meal, and listen to some great music!
ha! i played a breakfast set here on a trip back to the town a few years ago! is that place still there?
i played what i considered a successful jazz night out here for some upscale restaurant. pay and food was great! when i started playing they got more people to hang out longer and so it was a success. they even liked it so much they put me on another night so i had wednesdays and thursdays. then over the weekend they closed their doors cause they just work making enough $$. they still owe me 2 bills! so while the night was successful, the restaurant, not so much.
also want to add that while i love jazz and found a way to mix and blend some songs together, man its boring to play jazz for the dinner crowd. near the end of the nights, i would just put on 15 minute songs and go sit at the bar and chat up the lovely bartender...
what's boring about that?
I WOULD NEVAR MIC MY VICTROLA, SON. FALL BACK!!!
MANUAL>ANALOG>DIGITAL
I actually find that the longer tracks are most condusive to the vibe overall, wether classic hard bop or funked-up fusion, the longer stuff often gets people grooving pretty hard sometimes. The best part is that the only interaction is usually to tell someone the name of an artist that they are incredulous they have either never heard of, or had never heard them do THAT (ie. Chico Hamilton's 'Head Hunter' LP, which always seems to flip someone's wig whenever I play it).
Oh, that's right....it was loud enough on it's own! Now I remember!
I just been Fatbacked!
You don't get rich, but it has been great, I have to say.
You got your priorities flip-flopsided, son. Ain't about the music on its own. Hell no! It's about YOU and your mad skillz.
I would totally rock doubles of my favorite things for like 2 hours. The ladies would love it too.
nothing boring about that part... in fact i was pretty happy to run into her working at a better restaurant that serves some of the best chicken wings in the cities!
now you got me really confused.
a "better" restaurant?
that serves chicken wings?
what were you spinning at the soup kitchen?
nah, both classy places, but the first was a little pretentious and new. the place she works now is a classic downtown minneapolis spot that has been in a beautiful brick building for years and years (and years). beautiful bar with mirrors behind a bottle selection that stretches the length of the bar and all the way to the ceiling. its the kind of place that will tell you to take your hat off if you didn't have the sense to do so on your own. chicken wings is probably the most blue collar fare they offer and man, they're effing fantastic! tastes like they put cardamon or something in the recipe.
Pretty sure the Green Cat is gone now. As is Fall-Out records and Retrospect records...
where is this? what is the name?
word? man, i bought license to ill at fall-out when it first came out. i remember seeing "change the beat" by fab 5 freddy there back then and never bought it! now that i think about it, there was a barbershop there when i was in the town 2 years ago. too bad, and orpheum is long gone too. i hope broadway/capitol hill doesn't end up like university ave.
This is pretty much how we do it, but we do get funky.
My idea also involved Happy Hour to allow for people older than 30, and to hopefully take advantage of the after work crowd. I got tired of getting the 'it's to late' excuse from peers when it came to doing a night, and 7pm-10pm keeps everyone fresh!