Saturday night: it’s a crisp evening and snow has fallen for the better part of the day. But that is stopping neither the flood of people entering the doors nor the bright lights of the marquee on The Robinson Grand reading: Jazz Night – sold out!
You’re greeted with music as quickly as your hand pulls open the exterior door. Dan Baker is there with a smooth and inviting acoustic guitar. The lobby is teaming with people. You’re handed a card that is your passport of musical intrigue for the evening. This is unlike most other concerts. Music is happening throughout the entire theater. Soon, Seth Maynard and Karen Green enter with guitar and sax in hand and the crowd gathers with delight as the two begin to play. The energy throughout the entire building is undiluted. There is food. There is drink. People are mingling and enjoying themselves. If you blink for one second you could almost imagine it was midnight, and Paris has transported you back to its 1920s- but with fewer headdresses and better drinks.
Upon entering the Grand’s Education Center, there’s a huge display of food for everyone to enjoy while they chat and soak in the melodies of Cap’s Trio. By now, you know with a firm certitude that if you entered tonight with the naive assumption that all Jazz sounds the same, you have been proven very wrong. Now, Cap’s Trio plays a diverse set including a genre of music you didn’t know you needed: Brazilian Jazz.
Making your way to the Ballroom, with the help of the wonderful staff of The Robinson Grand, there is a speakeasy-like atmosphere to this level where the only thing more intoxicating than the wet bar is the sound of Rachel Franks voice singing Besame Mucho, accompanied by the incredibly talented Seth Maynard, once again.
You head down to the stage performance. Wait. You hear music. But the curtains are drawn. An attendant guides you on the right path and you find yourself entering what appears to be the backstage area of the theater. It’s dark. As a small cluster of people exit to visit the areas you’ve just departed and you make your way into this unique space to be met with awe. You’re on the stage and so is the Reggie Watkins Sextet. It’s intimate and special. You feel as though you’ve somehow made it; that you are in on a secret that only you, and those with you onstage, are in on. You may even start to pity the folks who didn’t get a ticket, but that is long forgotten as soon as the band starts to play their next piece. The close proximity of this special setup allows you to see up close the refined skill of each musician. Part of you never wants to leave as you wonder, will a special moment like this ever be recreated?
The evening concludes with a finale in the Performance Hall. The curtains are open and the musicians have assembled to close out the evening. A roaring success. Shall it be repeated? Time will tell. Until then, be sure to follow The WV Jazz Society and the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center for more culturally rich events like this.
Congratulations to the WV Jazz Society, The Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center, and the event Sponsors for putting on such a successful evening presented in memory of Jack Wolfe.
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