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No matter how many jazz lovers are out there, Tampa's jazz scene is hurting. The club scene is the lifeblood of the music business, but owners say jazz fans don't spend enough money to keep them going.
By RACHAEL LEE COLEMAN, Times Correspondent
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 14, 2000
Although Tampa Bay boasts local talent, two jazz associations, a smooth jazz radio station and three performing arts centers, a thriving scene requires the survival of jazz clubs -- and the eastern side of the bay can't keep them open.
Tampa's two most popular jazz venues -- 442 in downtown Tampa and the Jazz Cellar in Ybor City -- closed last year in response to slackening audiences.
"Tampa's jazz scene is weaker than most around the country," said Mike MacArthur, tenor saxophonist for the Mike MacArthur Group, a local instrumental foursome. "Jazz is commercially the least popular. It needs publicity. It needs to be marketed as an event where people think it's the thing to do."
Although Smooth Jazz 94.1-FM has the best advertising for local jazz, many small clubs can't afford radio ads.
Local musicians also think club owners don't do enough to support the scene.
"They don't tell people what's going on," said MacArthur. "Club owners feel it's the band's responsibility to fill it up, but some clubs have no ambiance whatsoever. People want to go somewhere dark and intimate."
Cino Grille owner Tim Ruys said it all boils down to what customers want.
"Both groups have to work together," said Ruys. "Really, it's a business -- we're bringing the band in to make money. If they're great and nobody likes them, we can't keep them."
Musicians and club owners agree that pure jazz clubs don't make the revenue necessary to survive. Tom "T-Bone" Hamilton, bassist and vocalist for the Swinging Johnsons, believes the market doesn't support purist jazz because the audience, which includes jazz musicians, doesn't spend money. When 442 closed last year, co-owner Maryann Blitz also cited a low-spending crowd.
Other venues incorporate new twists to traditional cocktail lounges to ensure their success. The Cino Grille in Citrus Park Town Center, for instance, combines weekend jazz with a Southwestern menu.
"As a restaurateur, it's hard having jazz bands because you sell fewer drinks," said Ruys. "I wouldn't survive as a jazz club. You have to keep people moving. When they get thirsty they buy drinks. You've got to get their heartbeats up."
Most listeners sit back and relax, sip a martini or a glass of wine and maybe smoke a cigar. They may tap their feet, but few purists will cut a rug. Because the soothing rhythms of pure jazz artists like Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald are not conducive to dancing, only 40 percent of Cino's bands are true jazz bands.
"If we played pure jazz all night, people would leave," said Hamilton. "People are disinterested."
Many in the jazz community think the lack of public interest results from a lack of understanding. By its nature, jazz is more cerebral than other genres, and jazz purists often concede that the average listener just doesn't get it.
"If people aren't having a good time, they feel alienated," said MacArthur. "It's about making them feel part of what's going on. Too many musicians don't put stock in that attitude."
This lack of perceptiveness may also contribute to the cliquishness found in many prime jazz venues, where musicians and purists leave newcomers feeling unwelcome.
Regardless, to appease general audiences, local musicians are forced to deviate from the traditional genre into R&B, blues and even pop.
"I sometimes have a problem calling what we do jazz," said MacArthur. "Where do you draw the line between what jazz is? We totally push the envelope as far as playing what we want to and still appealing to crowds and club owners."
There is the notion that younger crowds and their affection for the nightclub scene influence the limited selection of live jazz clubs. Gen-Xers have made Ybor nightlife a profitable business, but have not contributed to the success of jazz venues.
"Jazz goes way back, and the younger generations don't seem to like it as much -- that's why clubs don't stay open," said Anna Richardson, a local fan who has been to nearly every area jazz or blues club at one time or another. "The older generation has more of an appreciation for it."
Even clubs that do market to younger crowds in places such as Ybor City inadvertently deter more reserved listeners who don't want to travel across the bridges or want to avoid a crowded Seventh Avenue.
When the Jazz Cellar closed last year, for instance, owner Dick Rumore said it couldn't sustain business because mature audiences don't want to go to Ybor, where kids are raising hell.
Despite evidence of a dying local jazz scene, there is still a murmur of a pulse in the bay area.
Smooth Jazz 94.1-FM plays a variety of jazz tunes and, after 11 p.m., WUSF 89.7-FM plays regular jazz sets. Across the bridges, Pinellas County has its share of successful jazz venues. After 20 years, the annual Clearwater Jazz Holiday still packs in thousands of fans. Venues such as Club More and the Living Room, both in Clearwater; Pier 60, on Clearwater Beach; the Garden and even the Salvador Dali Museum, both in downtown St. Petersburg, offer jazz.
Although regular jazz watering holes are fewer and farther between in Tampa, jazz does exist. The University of South Florida offers an annual spring Jazz Fest, and its music department hosts ensembles open to the public. Regular acts can be found in almost every direction, and places such as Yeoman's Pub and Jackson's offer occasional performances.
SCENE: Under the Falls' star-studded ceiling, behind a soaring palm tree, Theo Valentin opens her Wednesday night performance with a jazz ensemble.
"We're trying to keep jazz alive," she tells the crowd. In the style of Sonny Rollins, her natural vibrato resonates through the venue while a couple swing dances to Misty.
The Falls' tropical decor and Polynesian menu, with appetizers ranging from $5 to $9, provide a comfortable atmosphere for patrons. Water bubbles up through glass windows, and a waterfall garden greets patrons at the entrance.
Amid the tiki masks and rattan furniture, candlelight bounces off the shell-coated walls. Pink, blue and purple lights bathe the stage, and two TV screens provide a less-than-clear view of the performers.
Valentin leads an open jazz instrumental trio Wednesday evenings. Although the performance includes blues and R&B, the first set is always a jazz ensemble, including originals and cover tunes, such as Peggy Lee's Fever.
Although the venue is standing room only by showtime, bartender Jill Campbell said it has only been jamming since February. It's not uncommon to hear cell phones ringing among the multigenerational crowd or to find patrons sipping the specialty, single-malt scotches.
On this night, Valentin's canary-like whistles join with Rita Wilson's punchy sounds and special guest Richard Jackson's smooth tenor vocals and scats. Each of the artists offers clear, fluid interpretations and genuine affection for the music.
Behind the glass block bar, which encases seven freshwater aquariums and a variety of colorful fish, bartenders may be found slow dancing to Valentin's Walk Mr. Bass Man.
Although heartbeats jump and voices sing along to the jazz set finale, a jazzed-up Marvin Gaye medley performed by the dynamic vocal trio, including What's Goin' On and Mercy, Mercy Me, the R&B set keeps bodies moving.
SCENE: Tucked away on West Shore Boulevard for nearly 36 years, the Fox maintains a word-of-mouth reputation as Tampa's only traditional jazz lounge. Newcomers better rely on word-of-mouth directions, too, because there is no street sign to direct them.
"This is one of Tampa's best-kept secrets," said server Susan Hunt. "People always want to come back. We get people in here who appreciate jazz as a music."
Inside, a small, attentive crowd sips cocktails while enjoying live instrumental tunes. A pink neon jazz sign hangs on the wall and glowing green rope wraps around the bar, adding to the traditional cocktail lounge feel. Patrons, who know the names of tunes by the second note, steadily trickle in about every 15 minutes, and the venue is bustling by early morning hours.
The Fox's signature elements -- stuffed Arctic, red and black foxes -- can be found encased at the entrance, the bar and the back corner.
"We have a good reputation and a clean, safe atmosphere," said manager Tom Crawley. "It's very friendly here, not cliquish like other clubs."
The club features live jazz five nights a week. The Mike MacArthur Group, a year-old instrumental foursome of experienced artists, plays Tuesdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Dwight Champagne Trio, the Fox's house band, intertwines jazz with R&B and Motown.
Although the club has been open for 36 years, it hasn't always been a jazz club. The Quick Red Fox originally had three area locations -- downtown Tampa, which is now defunct; West Shore Boulevard, which was sold to current owner Ted Wheless 14 years ago and renamed the Fox; and Clearwater, which is still open under its original name.
SCENE: At first glance, the Cino Grille appears to be just another trendy mall restaurant. But beyond its colorful Southwestern decor, Friday night waiting list and quiet cocktail tunes that resonate through the dining room lies a swank martini bar featuring live local and national weekend jazz acts.
Bar patrons may be found tapping their toes while dunking red, white and blue tortilla chips into a bowl of spinach dip or sipping one of 32 specialty martinis -- ranging from $4 to $8, in sizes small and large.
This may be the only place in town where regulars like Mike Davis may be found smoking cigars or sitting in his personalized chair. No kidding. The sign on the back of his bar stool reads, Mike Davis, thank you for your patronage.
"It's very comfortable," said Rose Marie Davis, Mike's wife. "The service staff isn't stuffy and everybody's friendly. If you sit next to someone, you'll be talking to that person by the end of the night."
The jazz performances vary from vocal to instrumental and traditional to fusion, often incorporating a mix of blues and R&B. Local performers include the pure instrumental Mike MacArthur Group, the Swinging Johnsons, the Phil Fest Trio and the Paul Anthony Band.
Although the bands typically play quieter cocktail tunes during dinner hours, the tempo and volume rise as the night goes on. Occasionally, bands may be found playing outside or on the inside mall patio, or managers may even be found singing on stage.
"Most people don't understand what we're trying to do," said general manager Tony Polselli. "We want to mesh with what people in Tampa Bay like, and they like variety."
Cino has two other locations -- Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta -- neither of which are attached to malls, and it's common for local and national artists to tour all three restaurants.
SCENE: Whether you're "in the loop" or just looking for an evening on the town, the Left Bank offers a rare elegance, cozy atmosphere and some of the liveliest jazz in the bay area. A counterpart to the chic French restaurant Le Bordeaux, the jazz bistro is known as a stomping ground for Tampa's elite.
"It's the only place I know where both the young and old can have a good time," said Joe Smalley, a south Tampa native. "The band brings it all together."'
Although the live jazz and comfortable atmosphere have drawn him to the Left Bank for more than 10 years, Smalley said the venue lost too much character after its recent remodeling. The cozy couches and the wrap-around bar have been replaced with more tables. The sparkling pool on the terrace is now concealed.
Still, the dark, intimate atmosphere mimics traditional piano bars from eras past. The only lights inside are the reflections of dimly lit oil lamps against pale brick walls. Glass art embedded in the walls adds an air of elegance. The piano, a rare sight in Tampa nightclubs, adds an element of sophistication.
Patrons can choose from an array of French wines, and the bistro offers a cigar-friendly bar.
Throughout the night, the dance floor is as crowded as the line around the bar.
Whether it's a lively rendition of Love the One You're With or a soothing, but spicy, interpretation of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Shawn Brown's punchy piano style, soulful voice and rhythmic patterns keep patrons moving. Old standards are interpreted with pizzazz. On any given night, the house band could have as few as two pieces or as many as five, and still shake, keeping patrons on their toes.