Challenges Facing New York Jazz Clubs

I just stumbled across an excellent article by Desiree Quinones-Terrence entitled New York Jazz Clubs Balancing for Art and Tourism. This is a very clear overview of the challenges faced by New York jazz clubs, and the article touches on some of my favorite venues present and past.

The author makes the case that in order to survive high rent and low turnout, jazz clubs have had to either cater to tourist audiences or go out of business. Indirectly, she suggests the integral nature of jazz clubs to New York City culture, and how economic challenges have diminished the vitality of the scene for local musicians and audiences. It's a reality we jazz musicians face, and it's interesting to take a glance at the economic realities from the club owners' perspective.

"For a New York resident, the jazz club is no neighborhood bar after work, it is a choice between an evening at the Met Opera, Carnegie Hall or a Downtown jazz club."

While there are exceptions to this blanket statement, it rings true, and the exceptions drive home her point. Certainly, the decision to visit the more expensive clubs like the legendary Village Vanguard, Blue Note, or Iridium is a conscious one most people make with their entertainment budget in mind. As musicians, we love to see our peers play at the Jazz Standard or Birdland, but we can't do that all the time. These clubs provide a fine night of excellent jazz, but the covers discourage walk-ins or a regular scene of local visitors. On the other hand, Detour (mentioned) was quite the local jazz hang (walk-ins and musicians popping in all night long), and it survived a remarkable 13 years with no cover, but ultimately could not stay in business.

Since I've been in New York, an assortment of hole-in-the-wall jazz joints have come and gone in the Lower East Side/East Village alone. Some out of business, others relinquishing live jazz. First Street Cafe, The C-Note, La Linea, Dharma, The Internet Cafe...these were all places I loved to play in the late 90's. These venues have largely gone unreplaced, while live jazz has taken root in various Brooklyn establishments.

It is heartening to see some small jazz clubs like 55 Bar and Small's thriving in the shadows of the "big" clubs. But I'd like to step back from all these symptomatic observations and look at the big picture.

Building the jazz audience is one key to enabling both the survival of New York jazz clubs and musicians alike. It's the one we have control over, anyway...the other being lowering costs of business (realities like rent, liquor license, etc.)... Many fine rock venues (CBGB's, anyone?) have succumbed to economic challenges despite their arguably much more popular music. Audience building, however, is an area where the walk-in crowd is critical to introduce jazz to new fans. Higher end clubs have elevated their profile to attract a wealthier aficionado crowd (ala "Lincoln Center") -- people that already like jazz. It can be debated whether this exclusivity attracts or discourages outside interest in jazz. I am certain, however, that the best way to introduce a new fan to jazz is with the opportunity to see and hear a live jazz performance. The difficulty of clubs to attract walk-ins is a self-perpetuating dilemma.

I wouldn't say that live jazz should either be free to see or expensive to see. Or that it should be culturally lofty or cater to the lowest common denominator. A full spectrum of offerings can only help the music. The very least we can do is try to replace the lost opportunities to reach new audiences resultant from jazz clubs having to price out potential fans. This is a cyclical problem with no one to blame, only roles that each of us can take to intervene.

As musicians, it falls upon our shoulders to market our music as best we can. How can we pick up the slack for the lack of walk-in opportunities? How can we create our own incentives for people to go out and listen to live jazz? When we score a gig at our favorite jazz club, what can we do to ensure we play for a packed house?