Jan 15, 2021 9:00 AM
John Coltrane, Out Of Obscurity
In late June of 1964, in between Impulse Records studio dates for Crescent and A Love Supreme, saxophonist John…
Josh Johnson (left), Alex Boneham, Jay Bellerose and Jeff Parker perform at ETA in L.A.’s Highland Park neighborhood.
(Photo: Ryan Julio)
Bassist Anna Butterss said she never planned to move to L.A., but said, “It just turned out be surprisingly fantastic.”
(Photo: Eron Rauch)
Kevin “Daddy Kev” Moo at Low End Theory
(Photo: Courtesy World Galaxy)
Lee Pardini (left), Davey Chegwidden, Paul Bryan and Matt Mayhall perform at ETA in Highland Park.
(Photo: Courtesy ETA)“I had some buddies who are rockers or classical musicians come and check out what I’m doing here,” Julio said, “and the first question that both sides ask [is]: ‘When are we allowed to clap?’ It’s like, whenever you want. It’s just a bar. We’re hanging out. I don’t tell the bartenders to shake quieter.”
For the first 18 months that he booked jazz on Monday and Tuesday nights, Julio didn’t charge a cover. He wanted ETA to be a neighborhood spot, where people not necessarily looking for a night of jazz could happily stumble upon it. “Much to the chagrin of my business partners,” he said drily, sitting on a barstool during a recent Tuesday night, he wanted to “make it about the discovery aspect first.”
In July, however, Julio did begin charging a cover. And he’s certainly more than justified in doing so. Three-quarters of his Monday night quartet—Parker, Johnson and Butterss—featured prominently on one of the most well-received jazz albums of 2018, drummer McCraven’s Universal Beings (International Anthem). It’s the latest in a long line of indicators that L.A.’s jazz scene now rivals that of any city’s in the world—though many of those involved in it would argue that the rest of the world only just now is recognizing what’s been true for the better part of a decade.
“You have genuine interest in this new generation” of musicians, said World Galaxy’s Moo. “You can’t manufacture that. You can’t start the fire. But you sure can fan the flames. And it’s a bonfire right now.”
“It kind of seemed as if it was like, ‘Oh, someone’s finally done something in L.A.!’” Butterss said about the recent outpouring of attention. “To everyone here, it felt more like—finally, you know, these people are getting some recognition. But it’s not news to us that there’s a scene here.” DB
John Coltrane’s Blue World takes its name from a contrafact of Harold Arlen’s “Out Of This World.”
Jan 15, 2021 9:00 AM
In late June of 1964, in between Impulse Records studio dates for Crescent and A Love Supreme, saxophonist John…
Carla Bley (left), Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard recorded Life Goes On for the ECM label.
Dec 15, 2020 8:57 AM
The list below is a roundup of the 5-, 4.5- and 4-star reviews that ran in the print edition of DownBeat during 2020.…
James Erskine’s documentary Billie includes vintage photos that have been digitally colorized by artist Marina Amaral.
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How does one craft a biography of Billie Holiday with a surprise ending?
She is perhaps the most intensely…
Guitarist Pat Metheny topped two DownBeat Readers Poll categories this year: Guitar and Jazz Album, for his disc From This Place (Nonesuch).
Dec 4, 2020 8:47 AM
A conversation with Pat Metheny is similar to one of his shows: Some parts seem carefully constructed, while others are…
Veronica Swift has both a historical connection to the music and a desire to expand its artistic purview.
Nov 27, 2020 9:00 AM
Welcome to our enthusiastic, optimistic look at the future.
Below, DownBeat presents short profiles of two dozen…
