Jazz Alley

Seattle's premier jazz club

Jazz Alley 6th & Lenora, Seattle, 206 441-9729 http://www.jazzalley.org

Interview by Marty Jourard, Dining Feature by Kristine Wells

If you appreciate great jazz and good food, you're in luck. Hidden in a midtown office building at the corner of 6th & Lenora in Seattle is Jazz Alley, one of the nation's top jazz clubs and the third-oldest jazz venue in the country. Many have experienced stunning performances at Jazz Alley including McCoy Tyner, Stanley Turrentine, Dr. John, Benny Carter, Jr. Walker, King Sunny Ade, and most recently the Zawinul Syndicate. Jazz Alley's success can be attributed directly to the owner- lifelong Seattle resident John Dimitriou.

Surrounded by framed photos of jazz luminaries, John graciously offered his thoughts regarding the joys and challenges of running a successful jazz club, working with musicians and the role of Jazz Alley in the musical community.

M.J.- When did this all begin for you?

J.D.- I got involved in jazz back in the late sixties. I used to work at a place called the Ocean Shores Inn and they would bring in people like Frank Sinatra, Jr. and other Vegas performers. In 1973 my brother opened a place called the Pioneer Banque Restaurant. I had the opportunity to start booking some heavyweight artists. We were bringing in a lot of music like Charlie Mingus, Bill Evans, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Cal Tjader, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderley...

M.J.- How did you learn the booking business?

J.D.- I had the opportunity to have a mentor- an agent by the name of Jack Whittemore. He worked out of New York and had been in the business a long time. I think he was probably the best jazz booking agent that ever lived. He had Miles, Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz, McCoy Tyner, Betty Carter, Sonny Stitt, Ahmad Jahmal...

M.J.- What advice did Jack give you?

J.D.- We would talk a lot on the phone about bands and negotiating fair fees. He would play the agent role for awhile, then turn around and say "If I was the buyer, this is what I would probably do." For example, if Stan Getz was gonna play Jack would say "Well, Stan wants ten thousand dollars for the week but if I was you, you know what I would do? I'd offer him six thousand." I say O.K. So Jack calls me back the next day and said "Stan called you a bunch of names, but he accepted the six thousand dollar offer." He had principles. He realized the importance of economics, not only making it economically viable for the artist but for the club, as well.

M.J.- What are some of the challenges of dealing with jazz artists?

J.D.- The real trick is to understand what they're doing and what you're doing. A lot of times people who are on the road all the time have a different need than people who are grounded. We as presenters have no control over a lot of those things. We control the financial part of it, we make them an offer- they either accept it or reject it. If they accept it they're under contract, it's kind of a done deal. If we supply them a good place to play, a good instrument to play on- the rest is up to them. We can't control the artist, we can only control ourselves.

Jazz Alley exists for both the artists and the audience. We do whatever we can to ensure both parties walk away from the club with a positive perception of "the Jazz Alley experience." If that means telling a band they played a short set and to get back on stage and play a little longer, or telling a sound guy the artist is playing too loud, we do it. We also ask customers to keep their table conversation to a minimum and we will approach an individual table if their conversation is disrupting a performance. For the artists' protection, we do not allow flash photography or audio taping in the club.

IM.J.- Tell us about your condo/airport shuttle arrangement.

J.D.- It started ten years ago when there was a shortage of hotel space in town and the hotels, the 6th Ave Inn in particular was run by some different people who were the most disorganized and unpleasant people that I've ever run across... and they were treating our musicians terrible... So I went out and bought a five unit apartment building in Eastlake. Most of the musicians love the condos-there is a piano there for rehearsals and it is musician-friendly. We don't get any noise complaints when they need to practice. It also gives them a chance to experience living in a Seattle neighborhood.

We also needed to pick the artists up at the airport, so we bought an airporter bus and put our logo on it. We pick up and deliver the artists to the condos and take them back to the airport at the end of the engagement...It's just one of the things you do to make people feel better. It's hard to come to a strange town, especially at night and it's raining, and you're looking for a cab. This way you can get the entire band and their equipment from point A to point B in one trip.

M.J.-What is the role of your club in the jazz community?

J.D.- I've always felt that our place has been to present the masters of the art. A lot of people have said I've done a discredit to the local musicians that live here by not presenting them, although I've always tried to have a place for them to play at least once or twice a week... but that's just not our role. Smaller clubs have chosen to do that. We've gone in a different direction which I think helps everybody. The reason why New York is the jazz hub of the world is because a musician can go into numerous clubs on any given night and listen to some of the greatest players in the world, and learn the art. You could see Kenny Barron, Eric Reed, Cyrus Chesnutt, George Shearing, all in one night. Now, Portland is a great jazz community but they don't have a club that brings national jazz artists there, weekly  so musicians come up to Seattle to see the people they want to see on a regular basis.  A lot of our trade comes from Portland because it's a choice between Seattle or San Francisco. Jazz fans will drive up here all of the time to see someone like Joe Zawinul or Stanley Turrentine.

The benefits of bringing national artists weekly are twofold: the local musicians will come in and experience the Joe Zawinuls or Kenny Garretts and Lonnie Smiths. Additionally, we expose a wider audience to jazz, potentially molding them into enthusiasts. The enthusiasts may not want to come down some nights to Jazz Alley because they don't know who the artist is or they don't have reservations or whatever, so they may go down to the New Orleans, or the 700 Club who has music, they'll just "go out." There are many places in Seattle to see live music- the role of our club in the jazz community is to showcase major jazz, blues and world music artists in an intimate setting.

M.J.- Name a favorite artist that's played here.

J.D.- Dexter Gordon has always been one of my greatest joys. Cal Tjader was always someone I looked forward to and Bill Evans was always amazing to be around.

M.J.- How have you managed to make Jazz Alley a success for so long?

J.D.- Well, I wonder the same thing! It is a lot of work. It's like being in a boxing match. You keep going round after round after round. And that's what we've done for over twenty years. 

FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO ENJOY FOOD WITH THEIR MUSIC

Jazz Alley has a delectable menu with choices ranging from Three-cheese tortellini with chicken, pancetta, snap peas and tomatoes in a gorgonzola sauce to Grilled lamb chops with a sherry fig demi-glaze served with Moroccan cous cous and caramelized carrots. However, the consistent favorite is Salmon "prepared in accordance with the season" claims General Manager, Deb Crisanti.

To complement their savory menu, Dimitriou's offers an extensive wine list ranging Columbia Vineyards Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon to more exclusive selections such as Meursault from Louis Lotour, France and Sangiovese, San Giogio, Italy. On tap is an ever-rotating selection of seasonal beers, with Widmere Octoberfest being the current flavor for fall.

1999/2000