Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
Changing of the Guard at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
The Mingus Big Band performs at the Jazz Standard in New York. The club announced its permanent closure on Tuesday amid a spike in new COVID-19 cases.
(Photo: Fran Kaufman/Jazz Standard)As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on and further economic stimulus from the federal government remains in limbo, the fiscal realities of 2020 continue to impact the jazz community.
On Wednesday, New York club The Jazz Standard announced its permanent closure on Twitter.
It is with great sadness that we, along w/ @BlueSmokeNYC, share that our doors on 27th Street will remain permanently closed. The current situation surrounding COVID and #livemusic regulations precludes us from maintaining our quality & continuing to “set the standard”. @USHGNYC pic.twitter.com/rvFbey8F26
— Jazz Standard (@JazzStandardNYC) December 2, 2020
In another post to the social media site, representatives wrote, “While our physical doors may be shut, our passion to serve and entertain lives on and we are optimistic about the future and writing the next chapter of Jazz Standard. In the meantime, the club is hosting exclusive artist conversations and performances virtually.”
According to the venue’s website, it opened in late December 1999, and regularly hosted local and touring acts, including weekly engagements with the Mingus Big Band. That large ensemble, as well as saxophonist Frank Morgan, trumpeter/cornetist Dave Douglas and pianist André Previn are among the artists who recorded live albums at the venue. The vocal group Duchess recorded its most recent album there, which was released earlier this year.
In an email to DownBeat, Seth Abramson, the club’s artistic director, said, “We are dedicated to exploring our options in New York City. ... This is not goodbye.”
As news of the closure circulated, some jazz musicians headed online to offer up their own perspectives.
“Shout out to Seth Abramson, also a musician and general good egg, for doing such a good job of booking the club for decades,” pianist Ethan Iverson wrote.
Saxophonist Caroline Davis voiced a call to action: “We are all heartbroken to see that the Standard is closing. Countless experiences going to see music and playing there. ... Into the memory vaults, gone but never forgotten. Y’ALL! We gotta push our local / fed officials to roll out assistance. Don’t give up!” DB
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Larry Appelbaum with Wayne Shorter in 2012.
Feb 25, 2025 10:49 AM
Larry Appelbaum, a distinguished audio engineer, jazz journalist, historian and broadcaster, died Feb. 21, 2025, in…
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“With Roy, everything was like full throttle,” drummer Willie Jones III says of Hargrove (1969–2018). “Every time we hit the bandstand, it was almost like it was the last time you were going to play a set.”
Feb 11, 2025 12:07 PM
Willie Jones III remembers playing with Roy Hargrove for the first time in spring of 1997 at the old Catalina Bar and…
