Dear <<First Name>>,
Why we are not a concert hall...
or a listening room
Art is an interesting thing in that great art is capable of causing some of the most heated debates. Should art be hanging in a museum or painted on the side of a building. Can art be consumed the same way on a wall in someone’s home rather than in a gallery or an exhibit?
Jazz is also an art that is hotly debated among those who are passionate about its preservation (and in our case its continuation). Among those debates is the question of how jazz is best consumed. Jazz originated in bars, brothels, and on street corners, far from concert halls with silent audiences and symphonic acoustics. While we certainly enjoy a great concert with an audience quietly focused on each note as it’s played, we also recognize that for jazz to continue to live and connect to audiences, it has to be interactive and engaging. Our sense of hospitality dictates that we let the experience unfold each evening on its own without setting strict rules for listening. At the door, our only request is for guests to put their phones away in order to experience the evening. Our audience is invited in to Nocturne to engage as a community with one another, if just for the evening, in what is happening on stage and in each others' lives. On any given night we have first dates, business meetings, and anniversaries, reunions of old friends and new friendships made between bar stools. We invite our guests to experience each others' company as much as they are experiencing the music on stage. Is there a hum of chatter in the audience? Often there is, but there are also magic moments when what is happening on stage becomes so compelling that the entire room pauses to engage in listening and experiencing the art that is being created. To us, this is the essence and excitement of jazz. The very nature of the music is improvisational, so that the artists can choose to adapt to the stage, the audience, and draw on the energy of the room. We’ve seen icons like Jeff Hamilton literally pull the audience into the palm of his hands when he put his sticks down and used his bare hands and fingers to play a beautifully intimate "hear a pin-drop" solo for over 5 minutes. We’ve seen young artists like Annie Booth draw the room in to sip each note from the piano while she plays her original works. These moments may not happen every night with every band, but these moments are the reason we do what we do at Nocturne. So for those that remark upon the incredible acoustics of our room and wonder why we don’t ask for absolute silence or bill ourselves as a listening room or concert hall, we invite you to join us a few times and watch for those magic moments when the art on stage deeply connects with the audience.
Later this month, you’ll have a wonderful opportunity to catch some of this magic at Nocturne. New Orleans legend Henry Butler takes over Nocturne for one night on July 29th to play two full sets. Over the last two decades Mr. Butler has established himself as one of New Orleans' piano greats. Jelly Roll Morton, Professor Longhair, James Booker, and Dr. John, Henry Butler has assumed his place in this incredible musical lineage and is himself carrying the torch forward. Performing solo piano, we anticipate many magic moments as Mr. Butler creates a gumbo of musical styles mixing jazz, blues, rag, and funk. This will be a ticketed general admission event and at only $28 per seat, we advise you to purchase tickets online and if you are coming with a group of four or more that wish to be seated together, please contact us after your tickets are purchased so that we may plan for your table accordingly.
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