And All that Jazz

Jack Wilkins, photo courtesy of benedettoguitars.com.

Jazz venues few, but fervent in North Jersey
Friday, March 30, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

Two men tuned up their guitars in the back corner of the Glen Rock Inn. With no fanfare, the musicians sat down on two dining table chairs and begin plucking softly, building the layers of sound in a sweet, swinging rhythm, slow-cooking the music until they hit uptempo arpeggios and smooth licks. It was seven o'clock: dinnertime at the small family restaurant.

Glen Rock resident Chris Connolly was finishing up dinner with his two children, 5-year-old Megan and 2-year-old Quinn, when he noticed that they were interested in the music. He took them to the back of the room, where they stood mesmerized within inches of the guitars. Even when Connolly brought them back to the table for dessert, Megan took Quinn by the hand, and the two walked toward the music as if it were the song of the Pied Piper.

"That's what makes it all worth it," whispered Shelly Rosenberg of Elmwood Park, who booked jazz guitar headliners Jack Wilkins and Howard Alden for this unheralded gig. "This is how you introduce kids to jazz."

For the past seven years, Rosenberg has booked jazz musicians Thursday nights at the Glen Rock Inn.


The Glen Rock Inn. Courtesy of ardore.com.

"These are world-class musicians, and you can hear them for the price of a meal," said Gregory Taylor of Hackensack. That evening, Taylor was there with friends Bruno Corry of Edison and Paul Loubriel of New Milford. The three meet at the inn about once a month.

"If you're a guitar insider, these guys are as good as it gets," said Corry, an amateur guitarist.

A select group of aficionados has found a watering hole here, but Bergen County in general is a bit of a jazz desert. In Montclair, West Orange and Madison there are additional options, but in Bergen, with New York City a stone's throw away, there seems to be little impetus to open up a jazz club. Most jazz available is performed weekly or twice weekly at restaurants like this one.

"This is the most expensive place in New Jersey, maybe even the country," said Amos Kaune, retired owner of the jazz club Gulliver's in West Paterson and Lincoln Park. "That makes it hard to open up a venue here."

Kaune ran his club for 18 years and booked jazz events at other venues for years after, but now just enjoys his evenings at the Glen Rock Inn.

"You may wonder what they're doing here," said Kaune, gesturing toward Wilkins and Alden. "But jazz players love to play. And there's a certain generosity of spirit. They'll play for what the owner can pay them."

For venue owners, live music can be central to grabbing a good crowd, especially on the weekends. Kaune discovered this as a first-time bar owner in 1960, when he bought the Clifton Tap Room. At the time, he intended to run a simple bar. But on the day of his grand opening, the chemical factory across the street went out of business, taking with it his primary clientele.

"We tried everything," he said of his efforts to attract new customers. "Finally we put in live jazz, and somehow it worked."


Photo credit: Chris Pedota for The Record. Teaneck resident Lauren Hooker: educator, mom, jazz chanteuse at Lounge Zen.

Jump forward 44 years to 2004, when David Nachman of Ridgewood and David Sindell of Guttenberg, both immigration lawyers, opened Lounge Zen in Teaneck. The lounge, which features art exhibits, French-Japanese fusion cuisine and an authentic sushi bar, added live jazz on Fridays about a year and a half ago.

"We didn't know early on what direction we were going," said Nachman, who grew up in Teaneck. "When we first opened up we had DJs twice a week, we had open-mike night, then we had bring your own record. Then we started doing jazz, and jazz really took off."

In January, Nachman and Sindell expanded jazz to Saturday nights.

"If we could do four or five nights of jazz a week, that would be wonderful!" said Nachman. "We've been to jazz clubs in [New York City], and we thought, we can do that better; we can serve sushi with the drinks until late."

Going to the Glen Rock Inn or Lounge Zen may not be the same thing as a night at the Village Vanguard or the Blue Note in Manhattan. But without the city traffic and the ensuing headache, an evening of North Jersey jazz can ease you into a swingin' weekend.
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Bergen venues

• Glen Rock Inn, 222 Rock Road, Glen Rock; 201-652-7214. Jazz on Thursdays. Upcoming: Frank Vignola and Don Keiling; Muzzy and Tomoko Ono; Bucky Pizzarelli and Jerry Bruno.
• Lounge Zen, 254 Degraw Ave., Teaneck; 201-692-8585 or lounge-zen.com. Jazz on Fridays and Saturdays. Upcoming: Evan Toth Band; Etan Haziza Trio.

Venues elsewhere
• Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, Montclair; 973-744-2600 or trumpetsjazz.com. Jazz Tuesday through Sunday. Upcoming: Betty Liste Quartet, featuring Ted Curson on trumpet; Baron Raymonde, R&B saxophone.
• Cecil's, 364 Valley Road, West Orange; 973-736-4800 or cecilsjazzclub.com. Jazz seven nights a week. Upcoming: Eddie Allen and friends; Victor Jones-JB Project.
• Shanghai Jazz, 24 Main St., Madison; 973-822-2899 or shanghaijazz.com. Jazz Wednesday through Sunday. Upcoming: Ralph Douglas Quartet; David Gilmore Trio.
• Shades, 720 Monroe St., Hoboken; 888-374-2337 or shadesofhoboken.com. Jazz Thursday through Sunday. Upcoming: Roni Ben-Hur, Earl May and Charles Davis; Jim DeAngelis Quartet featuring Carrie Jackson and Tony Signa.
• The Priory, 233 W. Market St., Newark; 973-242-8012 or newcommunity.org. Jazz Friday evening and Sunday brunch. Gospel jazz every second Saturday. Upcoming: Lynette Sheard; Carrie Jackson.
• The Crossroads, 78 North Avenue, Garwood; 908-232-5666 or xxroads.com. Jazz jam every Tuesday led by organist Radam Schwartz.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.