Sweet Rhythm quietly ends run as Village jazz stage

The 7th Ave. home in the ’80s and early ’90s of Gil Evans’ last orchestra, David Murray’s octets, Abdullah Ibrahim’s bands, Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy and other avant-gutsy acts closed last night (Oct. 24) without notice or fanfare. Sweet Rhythm nee Sweet Basil was one of the coolest spots to listen, drink and hang out in Greenwich Village, a wood-paneled room with fine sound, sightlines,Â bookings andÂ bartender, but it never recovered from what its most recent owner described as a post-9/11 decline in street traffic, competition from nearby clubs offering lesser music at no cover charge, and disinterest among the young in jazz.

James Browne, who bought the club and building which houses it in April 2001, is a thorough music professional, a dj formerly on WBGO and currently on Sirius Satellite radio with at least 30 years of experience in NYC scenes, who tried to downplay his operation’s well-established identification with jazz alone but never truly diverged from it ’cause he loves blues, Afro-Caribbean sounds, soulful singers — all music with jazz connotations. Taking over Sweet Basil from a Japanese holding company which had bought a franchise established by the married couple Mel and Phyllis Litoff and booker Horst Leipolt, Browne forged connections with the New School Jazz program, giving student bands professional experience, however the kids didn’t return the favor by becoming regular attendees.

Situated in a stretch of Manhattan that includes the Village Vanguard, 55 Bar, Small’s, Fat Cat, Arthur’s Tavern and several other bars and restaurants offering music, Basil had been distinguished by the company it presented, which included Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, ensembles led by Art Farmer, Ron Carter, Regina Carter, Olu Dara, Don Pullen, Oliver Lake, Cecil Taylor and many others. Though Browne vowed to broaden the field, and his cross-genre concept has been successful for other downtown music clubs including City Winery and S.O.B.’s, somehow Sweet Rhythm didn’t catch on.Â

I wandered into the joint last night, after hearing Canada Day, an excellent quintet led by percussionistÂ Harris Eisenstadt at the Cornelia Street Cafe (only two blocks from Sweet Rhythm). In search of a little more music and one more drink, a friend and I looked into the windows at 55 Bar and saw it was too crowded, walked down the stairs at Fat Cat and thought we’d stand out as oldsters amid the crowd of 20-somethings, so turned the corner to check out Rhythm, which was a place both of us had frequented over the past 25 years.

A strand of small blue light bulbs strung across front windows was the only indication from a couple yards away that the place had anything happening — approaching the door, we thought it would be locked (it was 11 p.m., early in a nightlife district full of revelers, though it had been raining hard). A half-dozen people sat at the bar, and we were informed we would be the last to be served. There was one glass of white wine left in what we were told was the only bottle still in the house, one glass of seltzer, but plenty of Makers Mark which I drank on the rocks. We commiserated with the couple of other folks there, all of whom looked vaguely familiar, drank up and left, surprised and sad.

I just called the club tonight — Sunday — to try to verify that my Saturday night experience wasn’t a bad dream. The phone rings and rings, and then a voice comes on to say the number has been disconnected, no other information is available. Other jazz clubs remain in Greenwich Village, but one that had been one of the best is gone.

howardmandel.com
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