Kudos to our venues for embracing jazz! 
Ever since California 66 went out of business, there hasn’t been a solid jazz scene here in Ventura. It’s been way too long. Since CA 66, you’d see from time to time jazz trios pop up at Wine venues or at the Pierpont Inn and definitely at Sidecar, but we have too much talent here in Ventura to have an occasional gig at a random venue. But now, we do have a jazz renaissance occurring. Squashed Grapes has been heavily supporting jazz, and of all places, Amigos has come on board. Jazz is becoming more common and we’re delighted to see over the past six months that Zoey’s, W20, and now Bombay’s are taking this unique American art form for a test drive.
And as this renaissance is occurring it’s quite interesting to see our local talent collaborating and restructuring their lineup. It not unusual to have guest players sit in, or to feature musicians from L.A. or from other parts of the country or world. At this point, I would normally list off local musicians, but I know I will leave some off, and so I won’t. But know that you guys kick ass. Yea, I know it’s jazz…but you really do ROCK!
And to be frank, jazz is completely therapeutic. To sit in a lovely environment, with friends, sipping a glass of nice wine while listening to extraordinary musicianship…well, it takes you to a different place. And sometimes you’ll be so connected to the players as the band will be working on a particular piece that the room becomes a part of the process and they become engrossed and their instantaneous feedback of appreciation with applause and cheering after a solo, well, it’s just amazing…yea, there’s definitely passion with jazz.
And whether it’s Avant-garde jazz, Nu jazz, Latin jazz, or traditional jazz, we know it’s an acquired taste. And so we hope that our venues will continue to support this art form as patrons become accustom to where they can DEPEND on jazz. Because as the saying goes, “Build it and they will come.”
We invite you out to support our jazz scene. See you there!
Pam
