Smoke Rises with its 25-Year Legacy

News, From the Magazine, George Coleman, Charles McPherson, Renee Rosnes

By Stephanie Jones I Jul. 16, 2024

Saxophonist George Coleman, seated left, captivated a sold-out room at Smoke Jazz Club in April.
(Photo: Johnathan Chimene )

In November 2022, Charles McPherson found himself in a familiar setting. Flanked on either side by his fellow artists, the saxophonist and composer arranged his music stand in front of him. Below the bandstand, patrons clustered, chattered. iPhone lenses followed black-and-white photographs along walls of exposed brick. The scene felt comfortable, welcoming — but also different.

After 23 years in operation on the Upper West Side of Manhattan — and following a two-year hiatus from in-person performances — Smoke Jazz Club had reopened months earlier as a newly renovated space pledging a renewed commitment to the music. Two separate rooms — one for ticketed patrons to enjoy the live performance, another for bar-goers to enjoy the Meyer Sound speakers as they socialized — expanded a once-concentrated atmosphere of musical reverence but maintained what had become, over many years, the sacred intimacy of hearing live music at Smoke.

“Jazz is best heard in intimate places,” says McPherson. “The smaller club did have that right-in-your-face intimacy. There’s something to be said for that, aesthetically.”

The claustrophobic delight of patrons turning their bar stool sideways to avoid a collision, or flattening their bodies against the wall between twin restroom doors only enhanced the music’s urgency. But change is inevitable. And within the new expansion, club co-owners Paul and Molly Stache worked hard to preserve that visceral feeling. “The ambiance is still there,” says McPherson, “but with a little more room.”

Spin ahead to 2024. In April, Smoke commenced a year-long celebration of its 25th anniversary with a four-night run from NEA Jazz Master George Coleman, whose history with the club includes leading his band on opening night in 1999, delivering a heartfelt performance after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and welcoming listeners back to the club for its grand re-opening in July 2022.

“I was fortunate enough to be here in the beginning,” said the 89-year-old Coleman before his Saturday hit. “It’s a very sentimental journey for me being here tonight.” From the swinging lines he unfurled across “I Thought About You” to the ethereal beauty he drew from “My Foolish Heart,” Coleman captivated a sold-out room. Behind a row of two-tops where the old bar had been, patrons squeezing against the wall enjoyed the exquisite urgency.

For 25 years, the Staches have run the club with fixed responsibilities and a fluid approach. Paul primarily handles programming and performance; Molly, house management and, as Smoke’s executive chef, menu creation. But the two join forces on many artistic decisions relating to the music and the ambiance that surrounds it. “Some people do music, some do food; we’re trying to do both,” says Paul. “We never quite stop working. We try out recipes at home or listen to rough mixes [together]. Our thinking is, We both love jazz, so let’s try to grow that. Let’s not just preach to the choir. It’s helpful to do that with a nice cocktail list or with a [weekly] seasonal menu. Let’s lure people in [laughs] and introduce them to this music that we love.”

But now’s a challenging era for clubs. New Yorkers are swapping their 8 p.m. dinner reservations for 5:30 and clubs struggle with enticing patrons to second sets, which trend earlier than they did before the pandemic. Still, Smoke thrives.

To understand the club’s grit and tenacity over the past quarter century, ask the artists.

“The music is always paramount,” says pianist, composer and longtime Smoke performer Renee Rosnes. “Over the last 25 years, Smoke has consistently showcased exceptional musicians spanning all generations.”

Smoke’s roster is no accident. Since those early days with Coleman, the Staches have nurtured a steadfast faith in the music, its practitioners and its fans. But some leaps of faith required a starting push. Longtime Smoke stablemate, drummer and bandleader Joe Farnsworth shared the stage with Coleman, Harold Mabern and Mike Zisman on opening night, after some convincing:

“I said [to Paul], ‘You’ve got to make an impression on that stage. If you put up money now, you’re going to reap the benefits for the rest of your life because George set the tone.’”

“It was intimidating,” says Paul, who of course obliged. And over the years, Farnsworth’s admiration for the club’s legacy has grown. “The people on the walls — George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Etta Jones, Cedar Walton, Charles Earland — these are the best musicians in the world,” he says. “But a lot of the big-name places didn’t even recognize them. And Paul, who was hanging out with us and going to hear them, opened his doors and made a home for them.”

After 15 years presenting music for music lovers, in 2014 the Staches sought to capture live moments on the bandstand through their in-house music label, Smoke Sessions. Just as the club provided a platform for rising and established leaders to experiment with their sound in a live setting, the label would provide a wider distribution for those moments of spontaneity, and feature both club performances and studio recordings at Sear Sound in Midtown.

“It happened organically,” says Paul, who had been recording shows at the club for years. “I reached out to my buddy Damon [Smith] and said, ‘I need you to quit that corporate job and launch a record label with me.’”

“I think the variety of the label reflects [freedom],” says McPherson, who issued his Smoke Sessions debut Reverence in May. “Even though there are different stylistic things happening, the one thing that’s common is that [the label attracts] people who are into what they’re doing for the love of it.”

As Smoke adapts to the era with live-stream performances, expanded spaces and a soon-to-launch outdoor cafe, the music remains front and center. Before setting down the mic, Coleman concluded his remarks with a message reserved exclusively for Smoke patrons: “You know the music. You know what you hear. You enjoy what you hear, and we’re here to give you music that you can enjoy.

“And that has made all the difference.” DB