Drummer Randy Marsh, who hosts the HopCat Jazz Jam, is also involved in jazz nights at Ottawa Tavern.
Randy Marsh was fretting.
Less than a year ago, my conversations with the veteran Grand Rapids jazz drummer frequently seemed to revolve around the woeful state of the city’s jazz scene, and the limited number of venues where West Michigan’s remarkably talented hepcats could strut their stuff.
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Oh, there were a few scattered restaurants and bars that featured jazz during the week (Noto’s, The Republic, Marc Stewart’s Guest House), and the summertime Jazz at the Zoo series hosted by the West Michigan Jazz Society would occasionally draw huge crowds on Monday for some amazing performances.
But he and other musicians were aching for much more.
Eventually, and fortunately, Marsh’s “open letter” of sorts to area club owners and restaurateurs was answered by jazz devotee and HopCat owner Mark Sellers, who offered up the popular downtown venue for Sunday night HopCat Jazz Jams.
The jams, hosted by Marsh with a rotating trio of top-notch players, also encourage Grand Rapids-area musicians to join them after the opening set. It’s taken off, becoming a popular end-of-weekend stopping-off point for fans of the genre.
Now, jazz is getting another big boost.
Greg Gilmore and the Gilmore Collection announced recently that they’ll be converting the Ottawa Tavern and Bite Café (at Ottawa Avenue and Pearl Street) into a full-fledged, upscale jazz club later this year, with jazz bands already starting to play the venue every Friday and Saturday night. Admission to the shows currently is free.
This weekend, organ-based jazz/blues trio Organissimo – featuring Marsh, Jim Alfredson and Ralph Tope – is playing the tavern, followed by another Sunday night booking at the HopCat.
“It is indeed very exciting news,” pianist Steve Talaga told me recently when I asked him about the Ottawa Tavern.
Talaga, Marsh and Steve Hilger already have been tabbed for a musicians’ cooperative which will book bands at the new club as well as other Gilmore restaurants, according to MLive.com and The Grand Rapids Press.
So suddenly, Grand Rapids’ jazz scene is looking pretty healthy, perhaps proving that there really is an audience for this compelling music form that’s best experienced live.
The key, of course, is whether the excitement that musicians feel right now about all this activity can be sustained long-term with fans and their wallets, especially if Ottawa Tavern expects to feature music seven days a week.
I’ve seen a few jazz clubs come and go in Grand Rapids over the years, and some may be rightly concerned that the city might not be able to support so many venues on so many nights.
But I’ll also say this: It’s more than worth a shot and it can work if fans support the cause. And it certainly gives hepcats plenty of hope for the future in a town with an ever-evolving and thriving music scene.
