Jazz jam sessions offer opportunities for listening as well as learning

Seasoned jazz players and those just learning are in luck. There are two places to get some insight into the art of jamming with others, harmonizing and testing musical chops. And all of it happens on Thursday nights.

Bay Burger in Sag Harbor continues to hold its popular Thursday jazz Jam Session from 7 to 9 p.m. Jazz musicians are invited to come down and sit in with a professional drummer and upright bass player. The weekly sessions continue through Thanksgiving (November 26), and there is no charge to jam. Audiences are welcome to listen. Burgers, shakes and beer are available all night. The jazz is mostly “straight ahead,” or mainstream, with Latin jazz, hip-hop and other types of music making occasional appearances.

Starting October 29, the East End Arts Council in Riverhead is launching a new series that lets students learn jazz by listening, then doing. After October 29, Jazz in the Carriage House! will be held the third Thursday of every month from 7 to 8:30 p.m., led by professional jazz musicians Billy Johnson and Teddy Charles.

The sessions feature a short performance by the pair, a short discussion of jazz history, and personal anecdotes of the two men’s separate experiences playing with jazz greats around the country. Each session will introduce a technique and improvising tips. Participants then get to grab their instruments and put theory into practice during a jam session.

There is a $10 fee, although the sessions are free for EEAC members and music students. Reservations are required. Jazz will focus mostly on bebop, considered the springboard for modern jazz. The emphasis is on fast tempos, intricate melodies, musical technique and improvisation as opposed to vocal sing-ability.

While each Thursday night happening has a different emphasis, both strive to bring jazz to life on the East End. Each provides the chance for jazz musicians to connect in a casual and family atmosphere. In both, performance for the audience is secondary and the experience for the musician is primary.

Drummer Claes Brondal explained it this way in a recent interview at Bay Burger: “It’s the old-school way for jazz musicians to practice their craft. To learn, we have to play with other people—it’s an important part of learning to interact with other musicians and learn improv … People can come here and be in a supportive and safe environment. No one is judging anyone here.”

Mr. Brondal added that having access to jams offers musicians important opportunities for networking. Musicians with less experience can learn from those with more. In this way, jazz gets passed from one generation to another, he said.

Mr. Brondal looked around for venues and connected with John Landes of Bay Burger. Mr. Landes has been running a music night at the seasonal eatery since opening the family business in 2007. The Jam Session launched in April of this year when the burger joint and restaurant opened for the 2009 season.

The jam has attracted musicians and audiences since the beginning, said Mr. Landes. Frequent participants include Peter Bosco Michne, Steve Shaughnessy, John Ludlow, Bryan Campbell, Max Felchuh and others.

Upright bass player Steve Watson of East Hampton is always on hand to ensure jazz can be played. Willie Jenkins of Bridgehampton comes out weekly to perform original hip-hop and freestyling while working at the eatery.

“This is a great evening for musicians and for the community,” said Mr. Landes. “We’ve been packed all summer. One night, we had four horn players. People are loving it.”

Mr. Watson said, “This isn’t happening anywhere else on the East End. It’s an opportunity for people to get to know other musicians and to perform. It’s always spontaneous and eclectic.”

Mr. Landes is hoping to incorporate spoken word into the Jam Session creative mix, and he also hopes to extend the sessions, possibly at Bay Street Theatre, after Bay Burger closes for the winter at the end of November. He said this week that he is reaching out to local schools and asking any writers interested in contributing a spoken word component to call him at 631-603-6160.

Separately, a similar sense of purpose led Mr. Johnson to develop an education program at the EEAC in Riverhead. Since moving from Baltimore to Riverhead three months ago, Mr. Johnson has frequented the Jam Session at Bay Burger. At the same time, he discovered the EEAC after spotting a program flyer in the Riverhead Library.

At the Arts Council, he found open minds and soon thereafter he developed a program that combined education with jamming alongside professional musicians. Mr. Johnson connected the EEAC with the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA), of which he is a member. JFA is helping to sponsor Jazz in the Carriage House!

The other half of the team behind the program is jazz vibraphonist and composer Teddy Charles. Mr. Charles has played with jazz legends Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Charlie Mingus. He has performed regularly with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, John Coltrane, David Amram and others.

Mr. Johnson grew up in the world of jazz based in Milwaukee. He grew up around jazz music and is the son of jazz guitarist William “Scat” Johnson. Billy Johnson played for decades in the jazz clubs of Manhattan before touring with Lionel Hampton and Illinois Jaquet.

For information on the Jam Session at Bay Burger, call Mr. Brondal at 631-463-2040 or visit www.claesbrondal.com. Bay Burger is located at 1742 Sag Harbor Turnpike, Sag Harbor. For reservations and information for Jazz in the Carriage House! call 369-2171 or visit www.eastendarts.org.