Duke Ellington once described jazz as, “…a trunk of soul with limbs reaching in every direction.” Metaphorically, there is no better way of describing a music that lives, grows, breathes, absorbs, entwines, climbs, bebops, rocks, pops, and sighs, as jazz does. It stretches itself across the world but never thin. It bounds from smoky clubs and strip mall restaurants, independent radio stations, and coat-and-tie concert halls.
But jazz lives. Its roots are totally original and grounded in this country as something we can call our own, but the branches are thick—big enough to hold anyone, anywhere, who will nourish it with an instrument or an open ear. It doesn’t take a major metropolitan city to dance in its shade; there’s plenty of room and plenty of cool, even in a cozy Southern city like Richmond.
More support, more crowds, and more demand for something like jazz mean more musicians and more style-specific venues, which, in turn, would bring more national acts, more attention, and, before you know it, we would have a “Richmond Jazz Scene.”
The limb of jazz that grows here has its own branches, vining throughout the city and into clubs and concert halls from Short Pump to the Northside, the Fan, VCU, Downtown, and into Shockoe Bottom. Venues here are in no short supply, and the diversity of jazz styles is very accessible. It’s possible to see a Flamenco act, dance to a swing orchestra, and cool off with a smooth trio all in one night. That’s part of the luxury of living in a city like Richmond, whose size and speed are often mistakenly regarded as the cause of a lack of activity.
Among what could be considered an almost fraternal organization of young jazz musicians in this city, there is a jazz scene that lives in the interchanging lineups of trios, big bands, and all sizes in between. Within this circle of players—who are all familiar with each other, most likely because they have probably all played together at one time or another—there is an eagerness and enthusiasm to play for a crowd that will pay attention.
At Maggiano’s at Short Pump Mall, if the band isn’t playing, it’s hard to pick the corner the music is going to come from over the forest of high-dollar casual wear and three-dollar-sign dinners. There is no microphone and no announcement from the band, other than a smooth number that drifts over the chatter and clatter of dinnerware. In lieu of applause between songs, there is a fishbowl drink glass on top of the piano that catches a dollar or two before another song politely rejoins the conversation.
It is a common assumption here that this, the capital city of Virginia, would be the last place to have any cultural “scene” worthy of nationwide attention. That may be true, but it is by no means due to a lack of talent.
However, live jazz in a professional sense—listening rooms and lounges where the draw is the music, not the meal or what’s on tap—is something with which our smaller city isn’t familiar. When the music is relegated to the back corners of a classy restaurant or sandwiched into rotation at a rock-and-roll bar, it’s easy for a crowd to overlook the authenticity of the music, even in a city that is home to VCU’s nationally recognized jazz program.
Richmond is right in step with any of the major cities as far as the skill of its players. The musicians are there to provide the warm ambiance that easy jazz can offer to a fine dining experience, and they are very appreciative of what those gigs provide. High-end restaurants like Maggiano’s, Cabo’s, and the Hard Shell offer a place to play and usually a full house, which means a few interested hands and feet tapping along. But a dining experience and a jazz experience are separate entities, and it’s hard to get a table with no intention to eat.
For a solid jazz experience, the music must be sought out and listened to instead of casually heard. You have to go to the clubs where the music lives and breathes. Richmond is almost an anomaly as far as nightclub jazz. The music continuously flows from a contradiction: the musicianship is strong enough to transplant successfully into any major city, but the city is small enough for the public to overlook the talent.
Groups play for unofficial “jazz nights” at places like Bogart’s Back Room, which is a staple for great acts, jazz or otherwise. One night a week, Café Diem might as well be on Bourbon Street, and the patrons are always very grateful at both spots—but it’s not like you won’t find a seat. Upper East Side Jazz Lounge has one of the few dance floors in a room for live music, so there is usually swing or Dixieland playing before the weekend brings in Funk and Hip-Hop Night. Emilio’s on Friday and Saturday jazz nights is a lively, unconventional room where it’s hard to distinguish where the band stops and the audience begins. Anywhere in the room, someone might stand up and start playing the trumpet.
The favorite spot for jazz among the players is Fusion on 12th Street, next to the Tobacco Company. The room is fairly new to Shockoe Bottom, but it has quickly become the preferred spot for most performers because of its genuine quality as a listening room rather than a bar with a great soundtrack for drinking. The owner is a musician himself who wants to bring to Richmond the style of a New York jazz club and has the touring experience to do so.
Still, there are usually more chairs than listeners in front of the bandstands and stages in town. VCU and the Modlin Center can usually fill a concert hall and do so with top acts, but jazz is difficult to make successful in a nightspot, regardless of the talent in the city. There is no jazz revolution going on in Richmond because the music just isn’t on the radar.
It takes listeners to water a revival enough that it grows into a “scene,” and what’s interesting about Richmond is that there is potential here. The city itself is the perfect setting to accommodate a fan of jazz. The musicians are enthusiastic to play with or without a crowd, unpretentious, and approachable for a drink between sets to talk music.
On some levels, Richmond may not have a “scene,” but it does have a sound—a sound that comes from musicians dedicated to its expansion and a drive to create the real thing. Jazz is a sound that improv uses and adapts, and therefore, it always comes back into style. Richmond has the musicians to make it swing, but it needs fans to make a scene.
Story by Brandon Martin
Illustration by Andre Shank
