Looking for live jazz? Try these 6 venues
Raleigh Randolph grew up in the heyday of jazz in Columbus.
As a child of the 1950s and early 1960s, Randolph would bop in and out of the clubs dotting Mt. Vernon Avenue, which continued down the block in every direction of the King-lincoln Bronzeville community – a hotbed of Black culture and a historically African-american neighborhood once teeming with jazz legends.
“It was not unusual to go into a club in Columbus and see Dionne Warwick or Miles Davis,” he said. “We were on the circuit.”
Musical acts traveling across the Midwest from Pittsburgh to Chicago would make a pitstop in Columbus in between gigs in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Randolph explained.
The 77-year-old’s father, Harlan T. “Raleigh” Randolph, was the leader of one those bands, an 18-piece jazz ensemble called the Sultans of Swing that once counted Chillicothe-native Nancy Wilson among its ranks.
The elder Randolph – known as “Ol’ Boss” by his fellow musicians – was a vocalist, bass player and 1983 Alabama Jazz Music Hall of Fame inductee. He turned his son onto the genre at an early age, bringing him along to Sultans gigs and buying him a set of drums at age 12.
“Jazz was in my blood,” the younger Randolph said. “It was so popular back then you couldn’t go out without hearing it.”
While many historic venues in Greater Columbus have since shuttered – “Club El Cairo where Ella Fitzgerald performed and the Empress Theater come to mind,” Randolph said with a sigh – there’s still jazz to be found in Ohio’s capitol city.
Beyond the upcoming Jazz & Rib Fest, which you can catch Friday through Sunday at Bicentennial Park, 233 S. Civic Center Drive, the following venues host local acts and live jazz all year long.
Hitting all the right (Blu) notes
Just east of Downtown along Main Street, the Blu Note Jazz Cafe beckons those with a curious ear to take a seat at the bar or a booth and sit back.
If you’re lucky you might get to a chance to hear Greater Columbus native Bobby Floyd play the keys, that is when he’s on a break from his main gig as a pianist and organist for the Columbus Jazz Orchestra.
The Blu Note serves as a full-service cafe throughout the day and an “upscale jazz club” at night.
The venue is open from 6-10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 6 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Those hoping to get more bang for their buck when it comes to jazz can become a member of the cafe for exclusive discounts.
Paying homage at Dick’s Den
To the north of Ohio State University’s
campus, you’ll find an iconic dive still standing on North High Street – Dick’s Den – where a neon sign blares the shrug-filled question: Why not?
The one and only Columbus haunt has been around for nearly 60 years and is as eclectic as ever.
The bar features live music on a regular basis, which began with jazz Sundays in the late 1970s. Those early performances featured the late, local saxophonist Joe Diamond, who would yell at the regulars for being too loud while his band performed, according to Columbus Alive.
“Jazz is apart of Dick’s curriculum,” Randolph said.
And you can study a piece of it – and the bar’s history – any day of the week from 1 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on 2417 N. High Street.
The Savoy Club: Jazz, soul and R&B
Just shy of Reynoldsburg, on the Far East Side, you can get your jazz fix at The Savoy Club, a beacon of soul music and R&B off of Brice Road and Livingston Avenue that offers a steady mix of genres.
“One weekend it’s R&B and the next they’ll have jazz,” Randolph said.
Since its opening in January 2017, the club has welcomed music lovers from all walks of life to celebrate their Sunday Jammm and Blue Monday, which both begin at 7 p.m.
You can visit the Savoy from 6 p.m. to midnight on Monday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday
and Saturday and from 4 p.m. to midnight on Sunday on 1904 Lake Club Drive.
Lincoln Theatre’s summer special: Wine Down Wednesdays
Some of the best jazz this summer can be found on the rooftop patio above the historic Lincoln Theatre – a King-lincoln Bronzeville staple that many in the neighborhood associate with great jazz performances, Randolph said.
The theater invites folks across Greater Columbus to purchase tickets to its summer series, Wine Down Wednesdays . Doors open at 5:30 p.m. on 769 E. Long Street.
Upcoming acts feature the Midwest Modern Jazz Quartet and the Aaron White Quartet as well as curated wine and specialty cocktails. Tickets remain for performances in August and September.
Ginger Rabbit
Aficionados agree that Columbus’ newest joint, the Ginger Rabbit Jazz Lounge, is unlike a lot of places these days, Randolph said, in that it consistently features live performances all week long.
The swanky venue tucked away in the Short North at 17 Buttles Avenue is open 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday (with guaranteed live music 6-9 p.m.) and 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday (with performances from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and 710
p.m.).
It features duos, trios and quartets booked through the month of July and some shows already scheduled for August, as well as a house cocktail featuring carrot juice and gin.
Jazz Wednesdays at Brothers Drake Meadery
For a more low-key jazz experience, old-school listeners and newbies alike can find something to tap their foot to from 8-11 p.m. on Wednesdays at Brothers Drake Meadery.
Its tasting room in the Short North on 26 E. 5th Avenue welcomes anyone and everyone for a pour of one of their many original meads, sweet wine made with honey from bees.
Their Jazz Wednesday showcases feature jazz and funk musicians from across the area.
As one of the oldest and longest-continuing meaderies in the U.S. – its brewery is located in Grandview Heights and was established in 2007 – Brothers Drake is a jack-of-all-operations: part local music incubator, part “Save the Bees” campaign and many parts fermented sugar.
Céilí Doyle is a Report for America corps member and covers rural issues in Ohio for The Dispatch. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift at https://bit.ly/3fnsgaz.
cdoyle@dispatch.com; @cadoyle_18