I had the pleasure of attending the Grille 29 Jam Session in Channelside two weeks ago (my sincere apologies for my tardiness in posting). What I heard there was reassuring breath of fresh air when it comes to jam sessions. The jam session stresses what Jazz Vocalist and session leader Denise Moore calls “Pure Jazz.” Be-Bop and Hard Bop roots are always present in the musicians and jam session etiquette is expected and exists all the time. “There are no ‘Sax Wars’ and there’s always top notch etiquette. There’s a whole lotta snap,” said pianist Dan O’ Hara.
I was able to sit down to talk with the lovely Denise Moore who heads up the house band, “Denise Moore and Then Some.” When asked how she would describe the session she replied, “It’s innovative and totally open…We’ve been given a creative license. It’s a beautiful room, the food is great with a contemporary wine list and a knowledgeable staff that loves Jazz.” Denise discussed how using her own band as the core of the session and then expanding from there by letting other people sit in helps to keep the session ego-less and comfortable for everybody. This is not to say that the players aren’t as good. Quite the opposite The players are killin’! (Props to Jeremy Carter on “Stella,” that was smokin’ and Denise “Silver Eyes” set the night). They’re just not out to kill the other players. Denise said it best, “It’s a comfortable place to hang out, like my living room, only with an Eel named Diablo.”
Talking to the general manager Mark Cobalt, he told me that “Grille 29 wants to bring out and support the talent in the area, whether its local guys or the University musicians. We have the atmosphere.” And Grille 29 does. This feels like a jazz club. The group is elevated in the corner of the lounge area allowing the music to be accented and highlighted as the feature of the evening. This gives the musicians and the listeners the opportunity to experience real club atmosphere minus the smoke.
Overall the jam session is ego-less, hip, free and pulls from a vast amount of different styles and players. “There’s something for everyone, jazz lovers and non-jazz lovers.” said Dwayne White, a local jazz trumpet player. We highly recommend this session to all jazz musicians whether you know one tune or fifty, have been playing for 50 years or 1 year. The people are great and the stress is on the importance of developing a jazz community. It’s a great way to meet people, socialize and make connections, as a lot of the people attending work regularly in the area, play and enjoy a great evening in a very hip part of town.
