Windsor Jazz

In another installment of me alone, late at night, listening to jazz in my office... Well, I know I haven't been dug in too hard on the local stuff at this moment so I feel these late night, office-vibe posts will be the larger extent of my posts for the next while. Most of the local jazz and wine festivals don't start up until the summer; all there is going on right now, really, are local high school end-of-the-year jazz band concerts. So, without further ado, here is what I'm up to in my midnight jazzy office:

My music right now? On Green Dolphin Street by Vince Guaraldi. It's a nice, background-type tune - almost like elevator music - to fill out reports to. A long day of running around like a madman at work, and with the knowledge that I'm coming straight back tomorrow morning, these tunes are relaxing me enough to not give a care in the world. To be honest, I'm listening to an internet jazz station right now (I know, not local) on jazzradio.com. Give it a whirl, as I don't have access to local radio in my office. A latin elevator-y beat called Foi A Saudade came on and kinda has me shaking around in my seat for a change. It's a little distracting but it may be the much needed break I need. I assume the title is Spanish, but my knowledge of French, which is fairly similar, leads me to believe it's called Faith In Saudade... whatever Saudade is.

Here I am, manager at a massive, 2000 capacity movie theatre, alone for the night - doing paperwork in a little, stuffy office. Jazz? Of course. It's the only thing that'll keep me sane through these hours of the night. I'm clacking away at the stiff keyboard I've been provided, kind of picturing it as an old typewriter. It's giving me a pretty sweet vibe to be honest!

Give me and old-school writer's fedora and throw me a cigarette on one of those little plastic holders (whatever they're called, I'm not much of a smoker haha) or better yet, a big old fat cigar. That would put me right in my place as a 40s journalist. That would be much more entertaining than these reports; but hey! A job's a job and at least I get the freedom to blare out my music.

The true inspiration for this blog, as told by the blog's description, is the area's singular late-night radio jazz program. 90.9 WRCJ hosts, from 7 until the early morning, an "everything goes" jazz show. Some old classics, newer underground composers, and even some skat construct the lineup.

The earlier portion of the show is hosted by the smooth talking Tony Mowod. The man who says very little in a super deep voice gives a perfect vibe to the jazz songs that follow. The later weekday host, Bob Parlocha, is a jazz know-it-all. This man, between songs, covers a little bit of the history of the band while describing its key members.

The music is great and I can honestly say I listen to the program every single night for at least 40 minutes to an hour. Go out and support your only local jazz station that is funded entirely by grants and listener donations.

Certain jazz classics such as Take Five and The Girl From Ipanema will never be played on my blog. They are fantastic songs, given; unfortunately, in my years as a jazz drummer, I practiced and performed them one too many times.

Luckily, the vast expanse of Jazz available on the world wide web means I can post a new song every day for the rest of my life and never have to hit the oldies whose notes forever haunt me.

The closest thing Windsor has to a Jazz bar or club is Key's Piano Lounge - a place where you can "experience casual dining with the sounds of easy jazz on Ottawa Street."Unfortunately, Ottawa Street is quite a distance from the nightlife of the core downtown area - but I'd like to give the lounge a try anyway! Maybe if we can pump enough people through their doors, some ballsy Windsor entrepreneur will throw us a live Jazz bar.

Speaking of which, though not entirely local, the greater Michigan area has a couple of dueling piano bars that might just give me the retro dose I need: JD's Key Club and The Keys. An hour or two of driving might just be worth the experience!

One last local request from me is, in accordance with my earlier post on setting the mood, a retro coffee bar would be an awesome addition to the Windsor scene. Getting a late night cup of joe (in the rain, of course) to some jazzy tunes along the bar of an old-fashioned diner would appease me.

So, a recap for any entrepreneurs reading:

-Jazz Bar

-Dueling Piano Bar

The University of Windsor has a very experienced Jazz Ensemble. Members, mostly stemming out of the University's music program, need to perform in an application to the band. You can be assured, their shows won't be any short of professional. Follow the University's music Facebook page for updates on shows.

Other organized local ensembles that are sure to play some classics include:

The Windsor Optimist Youth Band (for which I briefly played)

http://windsoroptimistyouthband.com/

The Detroit Civic Jazz Orchestra and Band

http://dso.org/page.aspx?page_id=26

The Windsor Jazz Ensemble

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Windsor-Jazz-Ensemble/156356089775

Jazz is less of a preference or a music thing, and more of a mood thing. For me, jazz is all about the mood and the setting. A good start to getting into jazz is listening to your first song on a dark, rainy night. I personally like going for a jazzy cruise in my car through the rain. The idea is to get yourself thrown back in time - hitting a blue, 40s diner; sitting around at a coffee bar, sporting maybe a long jacket. For slower songs, think of a detective / film noire kind of setting. If it's a little more upbeat, maybe think street party / zoot suit.

If a combination of rain, jazz and mood aren't available, my friend showed me a neat trick. He opened the following links all at once on his computer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZskBDZ40os

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhUEs8uIkNs

http://www.rainymood.com/

The first link there is a nice half-way song; 'Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk is a little slower and more of a diner song, but still upbeat enough to hold someone's attention.

The second link is the nice atmosphere sound of a crackling fire.

The last is just the sweet noise of rain.