The jazz club was mellow tonight. Steady stream of pleasant customers. A guest tenor played with the trio. The young saxman played seamlessly. I guess good musicians know how to play nice with others, but the tenor became the poster child for ease of play. He elevated the rest of the group to a higher standard. He sounded particularly sweet on a Stanley Turrentine song. Turrentine or Mr. T (the original Mr. T, before the gruff teddy bear star of the old A Team TV show) was a tenor sax known for his “big, warm, sound,” as a NPR interview noted shortly before his death in 2000. While enjoying the guest tenor’s treatment of Turrentine, I approached a young couple that had been sitting at the bar since before the music started. I told them there’s a five-buck cover, but I’d let it slide since they had grandfathered themselves in by showing up so early. The young lady said, “No, we want to pay…it’s important, ‘cause it supports the club, which in turn supports jazz.” I immediately felt a rush of human warmth toward them, as intelligent, kindred spirits. They get it. They totally understand. While I was fighting the impulse for a group hug, while slobbering “I love you guys,” the young man said “Hey, I know you from La Bou,” a now defunct café I used to frequent. When not being The Doorman, I can frequently be found in any number of coffee shops or cafes sipping dark-brew coffee, while reading or writing. We talked further, and I learned that he’s working at a placement agency that finds jobs for disabled workers. He also mentioned that in this dismal economy he’s having success, tapping into employers desire to reevaluate how they do business. Could these guys get any better? They like jazz, they understand how they club works, he’s doing work that benefits others, and clearly they’re smart. They are in-the-flesh manifestations of the perfect jazz club patrons. How cool is that.
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