jazz in the neighborhood

Ventured out on a recent warm Wednesday night in November to see some jazz at Tea Lounge, a nifty little spot in Park Slope. Rain was up there somewhere, but not yet. My bike felt fast beneath me, and we were happy because we’d escaped the mid-week blues.

No surprise: These cats can play. In the young set of avant-jazzers on the scene these days, angularity and melody actually co-exist, and Ampersand (great name, too) is a perfect example. I loved the drummer – surely a friend of Jim Black, but softer, maybe more nuanced, and with an easily and beautifully deployed open roll.

Thank you, Tea Lounge and Ampersand. I appreciated that we didn’t have to go to Manhattan to see this kind of music, that it wasn’t so crowded or expensive, that the drummer was late but nobody really cared, and that guys work this hard to make music that so few of us seem to love. But love it we do. Namaste!

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photo © tealoungeny.com