"For 19 years the Bird of Paradise jazz club, owned by local bass player Ron Brooks, earned praise, recognition and crowds for a lineup that mixed local musicians with national headliners. But at a sparsely attended closing party July 27, the Bird sounded its final note.
The end came as no surprise.
The building the Bird occupied was sold in February. By then, the club was behind in its rent, and the new owner ordered it to vacate by July 31. The once-stellar lineup of musical talent had dwindled to mostly Brooks' own trio.
How did the Bird, named by jazz bible DownBeat magazine in 2002 as one of the best clubs in the nation, wind up out of business two years later? Was a 2000 move - from an intimate storefront setting on South Ashley Street to a larger, more expensive basement location on South Main Street - to blame? Was part of the problem an owner who was a bassist first and a businessman second? Or was it simply increased competition for a limited audience"............
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http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/bas...xml?aanews?FEMU