SmallsLIVE/Mezzrow Newsletter: May 13th "10 More Years!"

SmallsLIVE/Mezzrow Newsletter

An important thing took place this week for us at Smalls. We were able to successfully negotiate a new lease for the club with the landlord. We succeeded in extending our lease for another 10 years with no significant increase to our rent. This protects Smalls and insures our ability to continue to present our music to our fans for the foreseeable future.

Our lease was about one year from expiration and I had considerable anxiety about the future, considering the current state of the real-estate market in Greenwich Village. A brief tour of the neighborhood and you can see the large percentage of storefronts which are mothballed and have been closed for years now. This is due to the policy of enormous rent increases on commercial spaces. A few months ago we lost the Cornelia Street Cafe due to their own rent issues. This is a neighborhood that has been devastated by wealth and the character of the area has relentlessly been stripped away, diminishing the neighborhood's historical value. It's impossible to run a small business in an environment where your monthly expenses are a sword hanging over your head - one wrong move and...

Fortunately I had some luck. One being in the form of a few friends in the industry who gave me some very wise counsel. A public shout out to Herb Hirsch and Joe Strasser for their help and advice. I think in our case, we may have found the turning point in terms of the neighborhood - our landlord didn't want to lose us as a tenants. I don't think his position was altruistic (I don't think he likes jazz) but more a realistic view of a turn of events - maybe rent increases have peaked. I don't know. That could be it or on the other hand maybe it's just some old fashioned good karma... but whatever the case, Smalls is going to be here for another 10 years at least! I, for one, am relieved.

I wish everyone an excellent week.
Spike

Monday - 5/13
Lucas Pino Nonet
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Lucas Pino - Tenor Sax, Philip Dizack - Trumpet, Alex LoRe - Alto Sax, Robert Edwards - Trombone, Tony Lustig - Baritone Sax, Alex Goodman - Guitar, Glenn Zaleski - Piano, Desmond White - Bass, Colin Stranahan - Drums

Monday - 5/13
Joe Farnsworth Trio feat. Buster Williams
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Joe Farnsworth - Drums, Isaiah J. Thompson - Piano, Buster Williams - Bass

Monday - 5/13
Jon Elbaz Trio "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Jon Elbaz - Piano, James Robbins - Bass, Kayvon Gordon - Drums

Tuesday - 5/14
Champian Fulton Quartet
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Champian Fulton - Piano, Steve Fulton - Trumpet, Hide Tanaka - Bass, Fukushi Tainaka - Drums

Tuesday - 5/14
Abraham Burton Quartet
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Abraham Burton - Tenor Sax, David Bryant - Piano, Dezron Douglas - Bass, Eric McPherson - Drums

Tuesday - 5/14
Malik McLaurine Trio "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Malik McLaurine - Bass, Julius Rodriguez - Piano

Wednesday - 5/15
George Papageorge Trio
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with George Papageorge - Organ, Matt Chertkoff - Guitar, Brian Floody - Drums

Wednesday - 5/15
Harold Mabern Trio
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Harold Mabern - Piano, Joe Farnsworth - Drums

Wednesday - 5/15
Mimi Jones & Jam Session
1 AM to close
with Mimi Jones - Bass

Thursday - 5/16
Mike Karn Quartet feat. Harry Allen
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Mike Karn - Bass, Harry Allen - Tenor Sax, Tadataka Unno - Piano, Mark Taylor - Drums

Thursday - 5/16
Greg Murphy Trio
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with Greg Murphy - Piano, Eric Wheeler - Bass, Tommy Campbell - Drums

Thursday - 5/16
Malick Koly "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Malick Koly - Drums, Jordan Young - Alto Sax, Jamael Dean - Piano, Franklin Rankin - Guitar, Dylan Reis - Bass

Friday & Saturday - 5/17-5/18
Gerry Gibbs & Friends
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
$20 for this show
with Gerry Gibbs - Drums, Ravi Coltrane - Tenor Sax, Marcus Strickland - Tenor Sax, Uri Caine - Piano, Linda Oh - Bass (5/17,) Matt Penman - Bass (5/18)

Friday & Saturday - 5/17-5/18
Rich Perry Quartet
feat. Gary Versace
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
$20 for this show
with Rich Perry - Tenor Sax, Gary Versace - Piano, Ugonna Okegwo - Bass, John Riley - Drums

Friday - 5/17
JD Allen "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with JD Allen - Tenor Sax

Saturday - 5/18
Brooklyn Circle "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Stacy Dillard - Tenor Sax, Diallo House - Bass, Ismail Lawal - Drums

Sunday - 5/19
Charles Owens Trio
Sets at 7:30 PM & 9 PM
with Charles Owens - Tenor Sax, Andrew Randazzo - Bass, Devonne Harris - Drums

Sunday - 5/19
JC Stylles Quintet feat. Steve Nelson
Sets at 10:30 PM & 12 AM
with JC Stylles - Guitar, Steve Nelson - Vibraphone, Jon Davis - Piano, Dmitri Kolesnik - Bass, Byron Landham - Drums

Sunday - 5/19
Hillel Salem & Alon Near "After-hours"
1 AM to close
with Hillel Salem - Trumpet, Alon Near - Bass

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