Tuesday, December 1, 2015

STRAIGHT-AHEAD, NO CHASER

STRAIGHT-AHEAD, NO CHASER: THE ARTIST-RUN JAZZ AND CULTURAL SOCIETY IS D.C.’S NEWEST JAZZ CLUB

By Majeedah Johnson - November 30, 2015
On a recent Sunday night at Brookland’s Jazz and Cultural Society, Dr. John Lamkin II piped luscious, honey tones from his trumpet, propelling his quartet through Miles Davis’ “Seven Steps to Heaven.” Trading crisp solos, the group of dapperly suited musicians went on from there to play a range of jazz standards, electrifying the intimate, amber-lit room, which quickly reached standing-room-only status.

When the band wasn’t playing, the venue’s energetic host and manager DeAndrey Howard entertained audience members with comedic tales about the featured musicians, all of whom he’s known for decades. In an interview after the show, he said the Jazz and Cultural Society, or JACS, presents “the kind of music that makes you tap your feet, pat your neck, and put the hump in your back. Anything other than that is uncivilized,” he joked.


JACS, located on 12th Street Northeast, just a few blocks north of Rhode Island Avenue, started presenting concerts in June, and has been quietly gaining attention from jazz die-hards as an authentic home for straight-ahead jazz. Run on a shoestring budget, the club is both raw and elegant, and it often features veteran musicians who’ve played across the globe. A professional musician himself, Howard created the club to showcase pretense-free performances—a standard he says is often unmet by venues run by promoters. Admission is only $5.

read more: http://news360.com/digestarticle/Rn9CLzyo20iw0BGIyF8s_w

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