The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant unveils its 2023 lineup.
Hen husband and wife team Danielle and Stephen T. Moore launched Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant in 2017, from the beginning, they committed to serving only the best Southern cuisine and showcasing the finest local, regional and national jazz talent.
With Joe Randall as executive chef, the club nurtured a reputation for consistently excellent and unique Southern-inspired fare. And with trombonist and Coastal Jazz Association founder Teddy Adams at the helm as music director, Good Times emerged as a jewel in the crown of the downtown Savannah music scene.
Now, five years later, Good Times Jazz Bar and Restaurant shines brightly throughout the Lowcountry with its culinary offerings and range of notable musicians gracing the stage six nights a week. This winter and spring the club features an accomplished cadre of not-to-miss jazz greats.
Vocalist Dred “Perky” Scott leads a pre-valentine’s weekend celebration Feb. 10 and 11. Based in Harrisburg, Pa., Scott got his start when he was 11 years old playing bass in a band that wrote a tune Santana turned into a hit — “Everybody’s Everything.” After 20 years playing bass, Scott stepped front and center into singing jazz and blues. At age 75 he insists music is his fountain of youth.
“Music is a language of 12 notes, it crosses ethnicity, nationality, all the boundaries that separate us,” said Scott. “Music brings us together. It also allows me this opportunity to grow and improve. One of the things music does is bring you into the fullness of who you are. When you do music, you stay young.”
Scott made a name for himself in the clubs of New York City not only in his vocal delivery but also in how he invites the audience to join the experience. “Music is a relationship,” he emphasized. “You’ve got to build a relationship with the music, the musicians on stage, and then audience.”
As he sets up a Billie Holiday song, Scott weaves through the crowd, sharing the story of how Holiday became “Lady Day.” The band plays softly behind him, making the exchange intimate, passionate, sincere. “I want it to be one hundred percent inclusion, everybody.”
Scott’s pre-valentine’s sets include familiar love-inspired standards like “Autumn Leaves,” “Fly Me To the
Moon,” “Lullaby of Birdland,” plus songs from Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday catalogs.
Then, on Valentine’s Day, internationally acclaimed Cynthia Utterbach reigns as queen of the
evening, delivering her signature, soulful tones from 7 to 10 p.m. backed by the Phil Morrison Quartet. Utterbach, who spent 10 years living, touring and performing in Europe now calls Savannah home and is regularly featured at Good Times.
In March, a duo of award-winning trombonists, Wycliffe Gordon and Stan Wilkerson, bring their magic to the Good Times Stage. Gordon, a favorite among club regulars, returns with more of his searing interpretations of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Wilkerson, a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory, and who now teaches trombone at the University of Tampa, has shared stages with heavy hitters Wynton Marsalis, Yo-yo Ma, Aretha Franklin and more.
Together, the duo creates silky smooth renditions of contemporary and classic jazz March 24 and 25.
In April, Milkshake Mayfield and the Milkshake Quintet come to Savannah. Based in Atlanta, “Milkshake” Mayfield has traveled the world with his trumpet performing smooth and straight-ahead jazz classics for more than 40 years. He’s played Carnegie Hall, the Montreux Switzerland Jazz Festival, La Grande Parade de Jazz in France, and now for the first time he brings his quintet to the Good Times stage April 7 and 8.
When he isn’t pairing foods and planning menus, chef Randall also has a hand in bringing acts to the club. In many ways he’s grateful for how Good Times has endured and continues growing especially coming out of the pandemic.
“In these first five years we have been able to do exactly what we set out to do — serve wonderful Southern food to the city and bring in a variety of top Jazz musicians from all over the east coast,” emphasized Randall.
“We had to close down for an entire year, yet here we are alive and thriving. As a jazz music lover, I want to continue to have the opportunity to share these jazz musicians and to continue to be Savannah’s premiere jazz club with consistently great service. Good food, good jazz good service, that’s what Good Times is all about.”
For more information about music features, performances, and menus, visit goodtimesjazzbar.com.