Jim Alfredson Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Longtime jazz club owner Ron Brooks recently hired a new manager to try and modernize the club. We haven't played there for quite some time and there were rumors they were closing down. In any case, looks like their pulling some shady clientelle now... 4 are injured in street brawl Officers called in from across county to disperse crowd in Ann Arbor Thursday, 8, 2004 BY AMALIE NASH News Staff Reporter Three people were stabbed and another was struck with a bottle during a large street brawl outside the Bird of Paradise nightclub in downtown Ann Arbor early today, city police said. More than 300 people spilled into South Main Street shortly after 2 a.m., where they fought, threw bottles and cursed at officers, according to police reports from the incident. Officers from across Washtenaw County were called into downtown Ann Arbor to help control the crowd, which took about 30 minutes, police said. Officers used large foggers to fire pepper spray into the crowd to help break up the fights, but no arrests were made, reports said. Investigators are still trying to determine what happened. "Obviously, a crowd that big can get volatile with that many people on the street at bar closing time," Detective Sgt. Richard Kinsey said. "When you mix alcohol, things can escalate in a hurry." The brawl may be connected to an earlier incident between two groups of women, Kinsey said. One woman accidentally bumped another woman inside the bar on open mic night, and words were exchanged, Kinsey said. Both groups were ejected, but several of the women were allowed back inside when it was determined that they weren't involved, Kinsey said. The women who were allowed back in said they were followed by the other group as they left, and an 18-year-old Ann Arbor woman was struck in the head with a bottle, Kinsey said. Large fights then began to break out on the streets, police said. Three people later showed up at the University of Michigan Medical Center with stab wounds. They were all in good condition, and were expected to be released today, Kinsey said. At least two of the victims were male, but no further details on where they were stabbed or who stabbed them was available this morning. Several people also came to the hospital with complaints about being hit with Mace, police reports said. Detectives were sent to the hospital to interview the victims and better determine what led to the near rioting, police said. Officers from the University of Michigan, Pittsfield Township, State Police and Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department were called to help. The Bird of Paradise - a popular jazz nightclub -has to move out of its location on South Main Street by the end of the month, said Jerry Spears, who owns the building. Spears said the club owes a significant amount of back rent. Representatives from the Bird of Paradise could not be reached this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Wow. It seems like Bird of Paradise has fallen on hard times. I went once while an undergrad at UM but they didn't really cater to students so I didn't go back, course that was almost 15 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Sounds like Ron got more than he bargained for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 it's getting worse in ann arbor. a few months ago someone was attacked from behind and stabbed as he was walking down a street next to campus. 2 girls were attacked when someone busted into their house. now we have a brawl. guess I'll never make it to the Bird before it's gone- I choose not to fight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddydwight Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 hmmmm. don't think that would have happened at Snug Harbor. ya never know, though. B) freddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubboss Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 "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"............ full story http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/bas...xml?aanews?FEMU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randissimo Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 "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"............ full story http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/bas...xml?aanews?FEMU A lot of it had to do with Ron Brooks and the fact that most of the local musicians as well as many employees did not like the way they were treated and exploited by Ron Brooks. He took advantage of a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randissimo Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 "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"............ full story http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/bas...xml?aanews?FEMU A lot of it had to do with Ron Brooks and the fact that most of the local musicians as well as many employees did not like the way they were treated and exploited by Ron Brooks. He took advantage of a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges.. ....... Like firing Paul Keller's band which had become an institution on Monday nights @ the Bird.. It pissed Paul off enough to change the name of his band & record label from "Bird Of Paradise" orchestra to the "Paul Keller Orchestra" & "PKO" records... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubboss Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 A lot of it had to do with Ron Brooks and the fact that most of the local musicians as well as many employees did not like the way they were treated and exploited by Ron Brooks. He took advantage of a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges.. Who and how did Ron exploit? The employee’s, generally speaking, had a low opinion of Ron. There is a long list of musicians who would agree with what you saying, however these two facts were not major contributing factors to the BOP’s demise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubboss Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 (edited) "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"............ full story http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/bas...xml?aanews?FEMU A lot of it had to do with Ron Brooks and the fact that most of the local musicians as well as many employees did not like the way they were treated and exploited by Ron Brooks. He took advantage of a lot of people and burned a lot of bridges.. ....... Like firing Paul Keller's band which had become an institution on Monday nights @ the Bird.. It pissed Paul off enough to change the name of his band & record label from "Bird Of Paradise" orchestra to the "Paul Keller Orchestra" & "PKO" records... Yes, the orchestra was “fired” in March 02. Personally I think the orchestra should have stayed at the Firefly. By coming to the Main St. address the orchestra lost their vocalist (Susan) as she was forbidden to perform the BOP. Shortly after the move from Ashley St. the orchestra was a big hit on Monday nights, however the crowds dwindled and never returned, by the spring of 02 Monday nights were a financial disaster for the club, the orchestra varied between 13, 14, 15 members. There had not been that many people in the audience for months. Paul Keller immediately took his orchestra to the Firefly (Ron’s arch enemy), renaming the orchestra was the logical move and it gives credit to Paul Keller, who should be getting credit. Upon moving back to the Firefly the orchestra once again attracted the crowds that had eluded them on Main St. Edited September 14, 2004 by clubboss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted September 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 It's a shame really, that a very liberal, arts-centered town (and an overall quite wealthy town) like Ann Arbor could not support two jazz clubs. I think that says something very disturbing about the state of live music in our age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randissimo Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 (edited) There is a long list of musicians who would agree with what you are saying, however these two facts were not major contributing factors to the BOP’s demise. They were however contributing factors nonetheless to the room's demise... As I'm sure you recall, Ron was often calling around for musicians and acts at the very last minute. Edited September 14, 2004 by randissimo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubboss Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 Ron's middle and last names are last and minute. The fact that Ron alienated just about every musican in Washtenaw county did not help his business what so ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randissimo Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 Ron's middle and last names are last and minute. The fact that Ron alienated just about every musican in Washtenaw county did not help his business what so ever. ... I'm wondering if you perhaps played there once or twice.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 It's a shame really, that a very liberal, arts-centered town (and an overall quite wealthy town) like Ann Arbor could not support two jazz clubs. I think that says something very disturbing about the state of live music in our age. well, there's always the Kerrytown Concert House.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randissimo Posted September 15, 2004 Report Share Posted September 15, 2004 It's a shame really, that a very liberal, arts-centered town (and an overall quite wealthy town) like Ann Arbor could not support two jazz clubs. I think that says something very disturbing about the state of live music in our age. well, there's always the Kerrytown Concert House.... Kerrytown Concert House is actually a very hip place to play... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubboss Posted September 15, 2004 Report Share Posted September 15, 2004 I'm wondering if you perhaps played there once or twice.. No, I've never performed (played) at the BOP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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