INTERMISSION

I could always disappear into live jazz. Live jazz has been a wonderful addiction that I have never been able to shake. Players with mystical skills talked to me with sounds that they had just thought of but that carried a lifetime of wisdom. It was way too complex for me to unwind., Those who played it were miracle makers. It showed up in the pictures I took. We are now taking a forced break from live music,  I remain in awe of those who can play it and those who bring it to us. These are the special people whose passion is greater than their aversion to risk. The proprietor of the Dirty Dog Jazz Club, Gretchen Valade, is one of those people. She has always made decisions with her heart. Those around her knew this and conspired to make her vision a reality. For the last six years I have written about this phenomenon. What a great gig it was.

Edouard Munch

These are strange times.

Last week I was notified by an email from the Dirty Dog Jazz Café’s accountant that the blog I wrote and the photography that I have taken there will not be necessary during the club’s mandatory shutdown. I was told that the blog was not financially sustainable.

The Dirty Dog Jazz Café has apparently elected to go silent until an intimate jazz club can reopen. For this reason the Dirty Dog blog has been terminated.

The club has had to close temporarily, but we can hope this grand idea will live on.

Here is the reality that I face

Returning safely to jazz clubs will be a hard task. What makes live jazz wonderful also throws up red flag after red flag. There are shared surfaces everywhere with the bands, chefs and wait staff jammed into small workplaces. There are small aisles with volumes of exhaled breath coming out of horns and exuberant customers shouting and whistling. Ugh. It will require more effort on everyone’s part. Even when we are told that we can go to bars and restaurants, the customers will be entering a much more sterile environment than the name Dirty Dog implies. My return to jazz clubs is even more daunting because of my age and chronic asthma. I am deeply saddened at missing out on  one of my greatest pleasures, the hugs and smiles of friends. I hope to see everyone next year.

We are all defined by how we behave under pressure. We stand strong, we blink, we are a rock, we crumble, we are decisive, we retreat, we shrivel, we show empathy, we are self serving, etc. etc. Adversity can bring forward all our best instincts and can sweep away the cover revealing our weaknesses.

In order to defeat the virus we will have to continue to give up some intimacy. To save our institutions and our livelihoods during this period of sacrifice we will need an infusion of supplemental financial assistance. Half full venues will only be possible if the proprietors don’t go broke. Our re-entry into normalcy will be complex. For a while we must avoid  acting in our own self interest. To be successful we will have to stay alert and act in unity. If we commit to the common good, listen to scientific data and have some discipline we can get back to work and play a littler sooner, and in time with a vaccine we will return to intimacy and perhaps some smiles and hugs.

 

I will try to continue to blog with a new purpose.

A pleasurable part of my life has been spent in crowded events, in a chock full jazz club, in a packed Noni’s restaurant filled with artists, shoulder to shoulder at an arts opening and elbow to elbow at the Eastern Market. As a high risk octogenarian it will be some time, if ever, that I will be comfortable with intimate gatherings. I hope that proper procedures can be put in place so that we can once again enjoy shopping for produce, sharing thoughts with artists, standing in awe of art and sitting in rapture with great live music.

I feel strongly in my heart that we must stay relevant. When everything gets so drab and ordinary we need a shot of color. Those who add that color are in a desperate place.

UNTIL WE CAN SAFELY RETURN, WHAT CAN WE DO TO ASSURE THAT JAZZ IS STILL AROUND WHEN WE COME BACK AND WILL NEED IT MOST

Listen and support the efforts of the community

Share information on opportunities and where to get help and assistance

Stay in touch

Stay informed

Stay the course

 

 

At this moment it seems that it is more important than ever to do something that supports artists in Detroit not just during these hard times but all the time. Lets have an honest discussion. Lets do it together.

Stay tuned.

John Osler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CARING FOR OTHERS

The friendliest place I know is having a birthday.

February 13, 2008 – February 13, 2018

 

2008

The whole world was beginning to experience an economic tsunami in 2008. In our corner of Michigan there was little traffic on the roads and even less traffic in upscale stores or restaurants. For most of us the mention of the year 2008 still sends chills up our spine. It was exactly at this moment in one of the hardest hit places in the world that the idea of a creating a jazz club in an upscale neighborhood was born. How it came about is such a good but sort of crazy Detroit story.

 

THE STORY OF THE DIRTY DOG JAZZ CAFÉ

If you have been to the Dirty Dog you already know how the story ends. Most jazz artists proclaim that this is the best jazz club in the country and perhaps in the world. Customers try to keep it a secret so that they will find a place the next time they come. It has become a symbol of excellence in the delivery of music, food, service and smiles.

In 2018, after 10 years of respecting everyone who comes in the door they have established a refuge for kindred spirits. Here in a posh neighborhood where they consider a 60 foot elevation a hill and most streets have British names sits a magnet for a very diverse audience for America’s music, jazz. With its humble roots jazz still has the power to inform our souls. It has complexity and intensity and its appeal is growing. It is democratic, expansive and can be difficult to play. It thrives in the hearts of the curious.

The Dirty Dog Jazz Café remains the home for good jazz and good ideas.

 

DIRTY DOG JAZZ CAFÉ’S FIRST MENU  FEBRUARY 13, 2008

THE STORY

THE PRINCIPALS

  Gretchen Valade                                Tom Robinson

 

Andre Neimanis                                       Willie Jones

In 2008 Gretchen Valade was in a better place than a lot of Detroiters. She had property and wasn’t in danger of losing it. She just had to decide what to do with it. She asked a friend, Tom Robinson, who was helping her with some construction and then with the creation of Mack Avenue Records. They also wrote some music together. He never said “Start a jazz club”. No one did. Gretchen, however, didn’t hesitate to fulfill her passion to have her favorite music just down the street. She thought about the possibility to have her empty building serve good food and good jazz. Her answer was, “Why not?”. Gretchen as usual thought about what it would mean for others. This directive continues to keep the Dirty Dog moving in a positive direction. Tom has made Gretchen’s ideas work. Against all odds with trust and patience they have together stumbled on a pretty good plan. A plan that has lead to having a world class jazz club just down the street.

  

 

Success sometimes comes to those who just stumble on it.

Gretchen, once she had the vision for her place, had to make some key hires. She didn’t waste time. Why not get her favorite sous chef from down the street, Andre Neimanis. Why not?! With Andre on board she would need someone to run the front of the house. Well Andre had recently worked with  a pretty square guy for only two days. Those two days were enough, and Willie Jones, one of the city’s most respected restaurant managers, soon got the call to come and talk to two people with a far out dream.

He remembers his meeting well. Gretchen, hoping to give the project credibility, asked Willie if he knew about Mack Avenue. He thought that this was a curious question. He lived close to Mack Avenue. He said “of course I do.” Gretchen was referring to her jazz label, Mack Avenue Records and liked the answer. He was hired. Trying to find common ground, they found a common road. They have stayed on track ever since.

 

THE PRINCIPLES THE PRINCIPALS FOLLOWED

Do it really well

Respect the music

Treat everyone with dignity

Enjoy the experience

 

THE RESULTS

Tom Robinson would often roll his eyes at many of Gretchen’s impulsive decisions and then turn her visions into reality. Today we can see the results of an accumulation of Gretchen’s “Why nots?” and Tom’s “Let’s do it”. Her instinct to hire quality people has paid off. Chef Andre’s menu has won many awards, including Hour Magazine’s prestigious “Restaurant of the Year” award and twice was the magazine’s “Chef of the Year”.  The Dog’s success also stems from Willie Jones’ ability to pass on to the staff his work ethic. Willie is a proponent of everyone serving with “all eyes on everything”. The quality of every detail is everyone’s responsibility. Willie has a steady hand and a wry smile, just like jazz.

The Detroit Jazz Festival continues to grow in stature with Gretchen’s support and guidance. Mack Avenue Records, founded in 1998, just achieved eight Grammy nominations at the 60th Grammy Awards Jan. 28, 2018. This was the most of any independent label of any musical genre in a single year. Tom Robinson who is CEO of Mack Avenue said. “We had eight nominations in five categories,”  “In three of the categories we were competing against ourselves.”

  

Maybe they knew what they were doing

The greatest Gretchen “Why not?”‘ was why not put those who make the music and do the good work first in your thoughts. Gretchen and those around her continue to keep “all eyes on everything” so that no need is neglected.

From the start Gretchen chose principle over profit. She took care of the place and the people with equal fervor. Decency, listening, sharing and getting lost in the experience have always been the bulwarks of jazz. Using these strengths the Dirty Dog Jazz Café has lurched, smiled, glowed, jammed and stumbled on becoming  possibly the greatest jazz club in the world.

Well done,

John Osler