The Doorman's Diary 6.7.14

There is gravity in the jazz club that pulls certain people to it on a regular basis. For The Doorman, these are the irregular regulars. There is no predicting exactly when they might show, but it will be sometime within a couple months to nine-month window. Cases in point from tonight’s crowd:

·      Carrot Top – A jazz-loving young artist with a wild mop of red hair. She lives six miles from the club and arrives by bus, bicycle, motorcycle, or a recent acquisition… a 15-year-old beater pick up. If The Doorman wins the lottery, a contract with a limo service will be issued so any time she has a yearning to come to the club, she can call.

·      Quiet Nerd Man – My mission is to break his code. He arrives, shoves a crumpled Lincoln in The Doorman’s hand, runs in and to the nearest bar stool, and turns chameleon by blending in as quickly as he can into the scene. He never looks anyone in the eyes—in fact, he may not have eyes, since I’m guessing no one has seen them. A social recluse who truly enjoys jazz.

·      Big Foot – A mammoth man who literally fills the doorframe and then some. Fortunately for The Doorman and the jazz club he has a Big Guy gentle spirit. I know when I sense an overwhelming presence and look up and see an enormous brilliant-white toothy grin that my end could be near—Death By Hug. For some reason this sumo-wrestler-sized guy likes me.

The irregular regulars fit seamlessly into the jazz club’s mix. I added two young women who tentatively craned their necks from the door saying, “We’ve never been here before, it looks interesting.” I said, You’re not going to see much from there…come in and take a look. The quintet, plus a phenomenal guest harmonica player (who can harmonize with the horns and take a solo) were cooking on their version of the Eddie Harris and Les McCann song, Listen Here, when it became evident they were hooked. As they dig in their purses for the cover charge, I say: Not tonight…you’re special guests of The Doorman. At this exact moment in time, there is no better place in the universe than being here in this jazz club, hearing these incredible musicians, and seeing the genuine looks of surprise radiate into beautiful smiles.

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.