Didja Feel The Music of...The Late-Night Jam Sessions

Late-night jam sessions have a special feel all their own.  My favorites were at a club in Buffalo, New York managed by Frank St. George called David’s Table and later, when Frank took over as owner, renamed  St. George’s Table. Frank was a jazz lover and great supporter of jazz in the city, both the music and the musicians.

Everyone felt welcomed wherever Frank presented jazz and audiences enjoyed that vibe as much as they did the performances. The last set of the night, actually early morning, would see the cocktail and dinner audiences expanded to include city politicians and pro athletes, local radio and TV people, newspaper reporters and critics, theater goers and actors alike, and staff from other restaurants and clubs that had earlier closings. Added to what I always thought was a pretty intoxicating mix were the musicians who had finished their last shows of the night joined by other musicians in town ready to sit in with whatever group was currently appearing at The Table. 

The atmosphere always became expectant, and charged with that “second wind” the players got—no matter how many shows or sets you played before this, even if you couldn’t wait to finish the official night’s performance, you were energized anew for the jam session. You were eager to hear and perform with your musical peers, to experiment, improvise, challenge and learn and, most of all, have some fun.

All prepared arrangements were put aside for these sessions and the only givens were that recognized “standards” ( or generic blues) would be called so that everyone started with a good working knowledge of the song and could then feel free to take off from there.  Also, solos were kept reasonable in length so that everyone who wanted to play would get the chance, and there were many with that desire. 

If I was appearing at The Table with a trio or quartet, then I had the joy of starting things off with a vocal, having some fun with key and tempo changes and, best of all, listening to what the horns had to say so we could build off each other’s phrasing. Then, I stepped off the stage and for the rest of the jam musicians from all over took over.

There were sessions when the playing and soloing were more relaxed and friendly. Then, there were times when the soloing was a lot more risk-taking and sparks of, mostly, good-natured competitiveness would fly. Not knowing which you would get was part of the thrill of it all. Definitely knowing the music would be special was part of the enjoyment of it all. Along with all the amazing music, I got to meet fine musicians and, often, those musical introductions resulted in future working relationships and friendships with those who came to share their talents and love of the craft of music making. There were the  more structured daytime jam sessions and they were high on the list of things to catch and participate in as well. But, nothing ever came close, at least for me, to reaching the rarefied heights of those late-night jam sessions. 

        

Jam Session at Small’s Jazz Club in NYC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvWd_M3hFnE

Dueling trumpets at late-night session https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfTmB_PLx0I

My personal fav. Would have loved to have been there for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1zwvxqYZdE