The Doorman's Diary 6.6.14

The jet-black-hair man with tattoo sleeves is here with a seductive, breasty friend. Four middle-aged men who have the wherewithal to afford what they want are at the door, they balk at paying the cover, pivot, and walk on. Good riddance cheapskates. The club owner chases them down, placates then with a twofer deal and seats them at the bar, next to sleeves and the stunner. I glare at them. The trio launches into a Miles Davis song after apologizing that the horn player is a no-show. Apologies not needed. The jazz club fills to a comfortable level, when it happens. A vaporous vision-ghost appears in the doorway. We are blessed with a visit from a jazz faerie. She enters all tall and willowy with a halo of light around her sweet face. I know and she knows I know that she doesn’t need to enter through the door. I stuff her five-dollar cover in a side pocket wondering if it may contain magic. She floats into the club and I don’t see her again until she leaves.

The Doorman’s Diary: 7.14.12

Magic took place tonight. The vocalist we have tonight was contracted just a few days earlier had to round up a trio to back her up. She did a masterful job of collecting three seasoned pros. Each musician—piano/keyboard, stand-up bass, and drums—are incredible. But the catch… they had never played together as a trio.  What was incredibly impressive was to see them flawlessly play together. I was familiar with the keyboard player since he has filled in with the house band where his talents are clearly restrained. In the trio setting he opened up like an enormous firework filling the summer sky. The bass player had such a competent, round-note sound that I asked one of our regular customers who is an old jazz-music educator and authority to tell me what I was hearing. He explained: “Oh, he’s classically trained and sometimes fills in with the Symphony, in addition to having decades of jazz experience.” No shit, is what I thought. He also said that the bassist is a genuinely nice guy and he’s convinced that really good musicians that are really good people have a way of infusing that positive energy into their playing. I said, I know the keyboard player as a somewhat shy, reserved guy who I think of as being a good guy as well. “What about the drummer,” I ask? He’s known as a superlative jazz drummer… the go-to guy when you need an experience drummer… a musician’s musician, is what he said. The vocalist is an old pro and sounds good, but to be honest the magic took place behind her and when she took breaks to rest her voice. Three top-flight jazz musicians who all are apparently nice guys blending their talents together positively. Total magic.