JSngry Posted April 17, 2017 Report Share Posted April 17, 2017 http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/04-03-17-elbow-room-closing-gaston-baylor-medical/ Honestly, I didn't know you could see it when the sun was out. Maybe somebody forgot to turn the filtermagnets on, maybe that's how it's finally going under. If you have Live At The Meat House, you've been to The Elbow Room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 I've been to the Elbow Room several times but I'm a little vague on it as it was almost 20 years ago. Is that the place with the exposed brick wall interior that caused nearly every band to sound bright & loud? I seem to remember that they had more blues bands than jazz bands when I visited. When visiting DFW, I always preferred the one where the airport runway was behind the stage. They brought in some great bands back in the 90's. I saw Marchal Ivery there a couple of times. The Jazz Connection (?) a couple of other times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 (edited) The Jazz Connection was a fairly short-lived club on Lovers Lane and Inwood. It was around in 1997 and perhaps no other year. I recollect seeing Marchel Ivery there with Joey DeFrancesco, and a guitarist I seriously disliked. The space is now a veterinary clinic. Are you possibly referring to Sambuca in Addison (there's a small plane airport in Addison)? I recollect seeing Marchel there at least one time; I believe opening for David Newman. Edited April 18, 2017 by kh1958 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 Are you sure it's not still a jazz club, but all of the vet assistants are all dressed up like nurses and... oh wait... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 I have seen dogs enter the premises but I suppose that proves nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duaneiac Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 1 hour ago, kh1958 said: I have seen dogs enter the premises but I suppose that proves nothing. Some jazz clubs have gone to the dogs and vice versa . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 8 hours ago, kh1958 said: The Jazz Connection was a fairly short-lived club on Lovers Lane and Inwood. It was around in 1997 and perhaps no other year. I recollect seeing Marchel Ivery there with Joey DeFrancesco, and a guitarist I seriously disliked. The space is now a veterinary clinic. Are you possibly referring to Sambuca in Addison (there's a small plane airport in Addison)? I recollect seeing Marchel there at least one time; I believe opening for David Newman. Unless Joey D played the Jazz Connection with Marchel more than once, we were there the same night. The club with the runway behind the stage was in Addison so it must've been Sambuca. It was pretty cool at night when a plane would take off behind the players. The planes lights would shine onto the players' backs. I don't remember seeing Fathead Newman there though. I used to travel to several big semiconductor companies in the DFW area in the late 90's. Back then, I used to scope out all the brew pubs and Jazz clubs before jumping on the plane. DFW was one of my favorite places to visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 The world of dedicated jazz fandom is a small one. I believe that particular Sambuca location in Addison is not open anymore, though there are a couple of others. But they don't purport to be jazz clubs anymore. The Addison location as I recall tried to be a real jazz club for a little while after it opened--I also saw Terence Blanchard there. 9 hours ago, duaneiac said: Some jazz clubs have gone to the dogs and vice versa . . . Owned and operated by David Grisman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted April 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 Sambuca is/was not a friendly place to work, unless you wanted to buy coke from a busboy). Their hiring/payment policies led to an actual boycott by most of the leading local players who were playing there, which is what resulted in its reimaging as a smooth-jazz place, and then, finally, a....whatever the hell it was they were doing place. Ask yourself this - when have you ever known local jazz musicians who had club gigs, ongoing gigs, aggressively bite the hands that feed them? We're talking demonstrations in front of the club and stuff. As a metaphoric illustration of the brand's evolution, when they first opened, the band ate free. Then the band ate free for any item under $15.00. Then the band could have a free appetizer. Then the band could get a 10% discount off of anything. Then the band got no discount on anything. Then the band couldn't even eat at all unless it was, like, an hour before the gig or something, and then you paid full price. It went from eating a nice dinner at break to not eating at all, because the food was not nearly good enough to pay that price for it. And then they started getting bitchy about too loud/too soft/too fast/too slow, the usualy club owner power trip. When it's an occasional thing, you figure they have a legit concern, but when it's a constant all night evry night, hey...assholes gonna asshole, right? As a literal example of the brands' evolution, the money got shorter as the gigs got longer. For a while, there, especially in the Deep Ellum location, there was some affection for the music and the musicians. The business model, once it became apparent that there was one was restaurant first, music there for that "sophisticated cache", and they had an eye for expansion, even franchising. All legitimate ends, of course, but as too often happens, when people decide to "expand", they shift towards a processed model, they start thinking not in terms of creating a consistently positive environment, but of just replicating a predictably consistent product, figuring that if people know they'll get the same thing the same way every time, they'll not worry about whether or not to come in, of course they will, they'll bring their dates, their bosses, their clients, they'll bring anybody they what, to "impress" because the food will be consistently mediocre enough to almost justify it being overpriced, and the music will be predictably "jazz-y" enough to not surprise anybody. As the concept evolved, the "jazz-" thing stopped being relevant, and here they are today: http://www.sambucarestaurant.com/home Dine. Dance. Entertain. At Sambuca, we think friends, family, food and fun are what life should be about. Our philosophy is shared with all who walk into our restaurants. Sambuca features savory new American food and modern cocktails that will tempt any palate and nourish the soul. Our nightly live music will engage our guests in the energetic vibe of the restaurant, reminding them to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. We throw a party---a really great party--for our guests every night! Business people frequent the restaurant for lunch; business travelers enjoy our upscale casual dining and entertainment; corporate and social groups take advantage of Sambuca's first-class event planning; locals stop by for happy hour and dinner; and weekend dance bands bring out the party people. Visit one of our rockin' locations in Nashville, Dallas, Plano or Houston. so, yeah, fuck Sambuca. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 (edited) I never went because they had a dress code. The Recovery Room (insinuated above) on the other hand... Edited April 18, 2017 by rostasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 I found an old flyer from Sambuca and scanned it into my PC but the forum software won't let me upload it. It says it can't be any bigger than 102.4 kB. The file is 96 kB. What's up here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 (edited) Yes, I didn't really like Sambuca much either--they were pretentious and it was definitely one of those restaurant first, music second places. I only went a few times. Strictly Tabu, while a restaurant, had a better attitude. I recollect seeing Marchel Ivery and Roy Hargrove there a number of times. The Recovery Room wasn't very picky about IDs, as I recall going there at the age of 16 or 17. Edited April 18, 2017 by kh1958 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 I once caught a show at a place called The Brick Room near the intersection of Live Oak St and Skillman St. That must be long gone too. Hey, at least the Blue Note in Taipei is still going from what I hear. So some of the clubs I went to back in the day are still booking Jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 And while traveling down memory lane, the other place I recollect hearing Marchel Ivery at in my early jazz listening days (mid 1970s) was some place called the Woodman Center--it seems like it was a Sunday night event, somewhere in Oak Cliff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 12 hours ago, duaneiac said: Some jazz clubs have gone to the dogs and vice versa . . . Gary Larson was an amateur Jazz guitarist. He did this album cover in exchange for lessons from Ellis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 Wasn't/isn't Gary Larson a customer/fan of Mosaic? (seem to remember some-one mentioning that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted April 18, 2017 Report Share Posted April 18, 2017 10 hours ago, rostasi said: I never went because they had a dress code. The Recovery Room (insinuated above) on the other hand... Thanks for posting those - beautiful and the real deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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